I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't
by Made of Ossum
Summary: What if Miley never told Oliver she was Hannah Montana? What if she mistakenly let Oliver date Hannah instead? Starts at the end of Miley Get Your Gum. MOLIVER and a tiny bit of LACKSON.
1. Big Mistake

_**A/N:**_ _My first HM fic, hopefully it's OK. I'm always too critical of my writing. And although I'm not good at updating, reviews keeps me motivated. So if you like this at all please review and maybe I'll continue it.._

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana

* * *

_**I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't**_

**Chapter 1: Big Mistake**

* * *

"_How do you like me__ now_?" Hannah Montana demanded through gritted teeth to her lovesick fan, Oliver Oken, after trying repeatedly to gross him out with her gum chewing.

Unknown to Oliver, Hannah Montana was actually his best friend, Miley Stewart, which was why she was desperately attempting to stop his obsession with her alter ego.

"I...still love you," he forced himself to say.

"What does it take with you? What more do I have to do?!" This was unbelievable! He was willing to sacrifice his disgust for _her_?

Well, actually, now that she put it that way, it did sound kind of...sweet. "You and Hannah Montana can _never_—"

Oliver's face fell. He knew where this was going. She had been trying purposefully to get rid of him, he could tell.

"...be...apart?" Miley gulped. What had she just said?! Oh, no, now he was going to—

"That's exactly how _I_ feel! Are you _serious_?!" he screamed.

"Uh...I guess?" she replied uneasily, closing her eyes and preparing herself for a life-threatening hug or something.

But then Oliver did what any strong man would do...he fainted.

Miley opened her eyes to see him lying unconscious in the sand and smacked herself on the forehead. She was dating the dorkiest kid in eighth grade! Scratch that. _Hannah Montana_ was dating the dorkiest kid in eighth grade! What would that do to her image? And all because Miley couldn't say no. She couldn't turn down that heartbroken look he got on his face, and those big brown eyes that started misting up...

"Oliver?" she asked, kneeling down and shaking him by the shoulders. "Hello?" His eyes began to flutter open. "Are you OK there?"

Slowly a grin formed on his face. "I am now."

Oh, gee. Wasn't _that_ the corniest line in the history of the world!

"I guess I should help you up then." She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Man. I'm dating Hannah Montana. I'm dating _Hannah Montana_!" he burst out, as if realizing it for the first time.

"Didn't we already establish that?" she asked in exasperation.

"I'm going to tell Lilly and Miley...and the _entire_ school!"

Her eyes widened in horror. "But, they don't really need to know, do they?"

"Well, yeah." His voice got quiet. "You're not embarrassed of me...are you?"

"No! It's just…" Miley pulled him closer and looked him straight in the eyes, giving him her puppy dog face. "Please, Oliver, could we keep this queit? Just for a little while?"

He broke out in a grin again. "You remembered my name!"

"Um, yeah...you told me when, um..." She tried to think. _Had_ he told Hannah his name before? What if she just slipped up _bad_?

"When I was hanging from the sunroof in your limo!" he finished. "And before that at the CD signing. And also that time when—"

"OK, OK. So are we agreed on the _'quiet'_ part?"

"Can I at least tell my two best friends?"

"As...long as they keep it quiet too." She smiled outwardly, starting to feel a little sick on the inside. What would Lilly have to say about all this? She'd probably accuse Miley of liking Oliver again—which she didn't! Of course she didn't. But even if she did...he liked Hannah, not Miley. It was different.

"So are you _really_ a chewer?" Oliver asked uneasily, changing the subject. "I mean, like I said, I still love you if you are but—"

Miley let out a giggle. "Don't worry, I won't chew around you."

"Oh, thank goodness," Oliver let out in relief.

"Well, I really should be going now," Miley decided.

"Wait! Aren't you going to give me your number or something?" Oliver wanted to know.

"Don't you already have it?" Miley asked.

"No. I'm good, but I'm not _that_ good," he replied.

Shoot! Of course he wasn't. Gosh, living a double life was so complicated.

"Right," she said, a nervous smile pasted on her face. "Uh...do you have a pen?"

Oliver pulled a Sharpie out from his back pocket and handed it to Miley. "No paper."

"That's fine." He felt a tingling sensation as she grabbed his forearm and pulled him closer, scribbling the number to Hannah's phone on his bare skin. "There."

Oliver stared at her in awe. "I'm never washing this arm again, and I've already memorized the number!"

Did he have to be _so_ much of a fan?

* * *

"LILLY!"

The scream interrupted her conversation with Jackson, and she turned around in her seat at Rico's to see a frantic Oliver running towards her.

"He's probably going to tell us all about Hannah's gum problem," Lilly mused with a smile. Her conversation with Miley's older brother had been all about her plan to get rid of Oliver's obsession.

Oliver finally came to a stop at the counter, and leaned there panting for a few seconds. "Hannah…Montana…"

"Remember Oliver, you're still Smoken Oken," Lilly told him.

"…is my girlfriend!" he burst out.

Lilly's eyes widened and she glanced at Jackson, whose face mirrored her own surprise.

"Uh…you know, Oliver, you don't have to make up stories. It's OK if you got rejected," Lilly informed him.

"You think I'm making it up?" Oliver asked in disbelief. "Look! She gave me her number!" He held out his arm to show her.

"That's the number to the Hannah phone," Lilly muttered frantically to Jackson.

"Why don't you two go tell Miley?" he suggested with a smirk.

"Yeah!" Oliver said enthusiastically, grabbing Lilly's arm. "Come on, Lilly, let's go!"

"Ooh, I wonder what she'll have to say," she remarked as they ran down the beach towards the Stewart house.

* * *

"Miley, Miley!" Oliver exclaimed as he and Lilly rushed into the living room.

"Oliver has something to tell you," Lilly just about sang, a huge smile on her face.

"Oh _really_," Miley said through gritted teeth, glaring at her.

"I'm dating Hannah Montana!" he let out. "Can you believe it?"

"I can't, can you Miley?" Lilly kept teasing.

"Um…wow. I'm so…happy for you, Oliver." The clenched teeth and death glare at Lilly continued. Dating Oliver was bad enough. Having your best friend rub it in didn't make things any better.

Oliver frowned. "You OK, Miley? You sound kind of…"

"Jealous?" Lilly guessed, knowing that would send Miley over the top.

The brunette's mouth dropped. "I am _not_ jealous!" she insisted, hands on hips. "I mean, why would I be jealous that Oliver has a girlfriend?" she added, letting out a small but nervous laugh.

"Um, I meant jealous that Oliver is dating a celebrity and you're not…but what you said works too!" Lilly replied perkily. She bounced onto the couch and grabbed a handful of the potato chips that happened to be sitting in a bowl nearby.

"Look, I'm not jealous of anything," Miley sighed. "I'm happy for Oliver."

"Of course you are Miles," he agreed. "I just thought maybe something else was bringing you down."

"Um, yeah," she said quickly. "Jackson…"

Lilly raised her eyebrows in interest.

"…dropped my cell phone in a bowl of soup today to see if it would float," Miley fibbed.

Oliver immediately grew curious. "Did it?"

Miley giggled. "Lilly, give me a chip."

"Here," Lilly obliged.

"Thanks." Miley took it and tossed it at her best guy pal.

"Hey!" he laughed.

"You know, speaking of phones," Lilly commented between munches, "why don't you call Hannah now? I don't believe you're officially dating until you both actually _go out in public somewhere together_. Right Miley?"

"Uh—that's not true!" Miley protested. "Besides, she's probably busy right now. She could be _hanging out with her friends_," she said pointedly.

"What is it with you and the voice?" Lilly asked.

"I'll call. If Hannah's busy I'll just leave a message," Oliver decided. "Oh, but I'll have to use someone's phone," he realized. "I forgot mine at home in the rush to get to the beach today."

Miley bit her lip, trying to think of another excuse. She grabbed the house phone and tossed it to Oliver, then said quickly, "I gotta go to the bathroom. You can call without me."

Miley ran all the way upstairs, then stopped. She pulled out the Hannah phone, turned it to silent and waited. Sure enough, Oliver's number popped onscreen. Should she answer or let him leave a message?

Ah, what the heck. "Hello, this is _Hannah Montana._"

_Duh, Miley, who else would it be?_

"Uh…um…this is Ol-Oliver Oken, your biggest fan," he stuttered.

Aw, he was nervous. That was cute…er…not cute like that, cute like…

"Um…Hannah?"

"Oh! Sorry…_sweetie._"

Well, she _did_ have to sound believable.

"It's all right, _honey_." Oh yeah, she could just picture that boy grinning.

"Put it on speaker, put it on speaker!" Miley could hear Lilly's screeching in the background.

"Oh, Hannah, I've got a friend with me, so is it OK if I turn the speakerphone on?" Oliver asked.

"Of course," Miley muttered, still ticked off that Lilly was having so much fun rubbing this in. She caught herself quickly. "Uh, I mean, of course it is…_baby_…"

"Oh, OK, hold on!"

"Hannah?" Lilly squealed.

"Hi, Li—ttle girl. What's your name?" Miley asked.

Just keep it together, you can get through this.

"I'm Lilly! We met in your dressing room remember? I'm your _biggest_ fan!"

"Lilly," Oliver scolded.

"What? You're her _boyfriend_ now. That means I officially get the biggest fan title!" Lilly squealed again.

"OK, that's nice," Miley interrupted the needless chatter. "Oliver honey, we're gonna have to pick up later, OK? I have a…voice lesson to get to."

"Call me as soon as you're done, OK?" he replied. "I love you. Bye!"

"Um yeah, I…uh…love you too…" she said as a whisper.


	2. Plans

_**A/N:**_ _All right, this chapter isn't too interesting, it's more transitional. I thought of making it longer, but that would kind of mess things up and yeah... So, tell me what you think, and I apologize for the suckishness in advance.  
_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana.

* * *

_**I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't**_

**Chapter 2: Plans  
**

* * *

"It's a good thing he bought that sick stomach act," Lilly remarked with a smirk.

After Oliver's conversation with his new "girlfriend," Miley had explained her delayed absence from the room by telling her two friends that her stomach felt overly queasy and she was worried she had some kind of virus. Oliver accepted that no questions asked, but Lilly of course knew better.

"Well I couldn't really explain to you what happened with him here, now could I?" Miley replied, taking a seat on the sofa beside her best friend.

"Oh, I _know_ what happened," Lilly laughed. "You keep denying you have feelings for him, but when you two are alone you happily accept to be his girlfriend!"

"OK, that is so _not_ true!" Miley protested. She ignored the raised eyebrow Lilly returned her with and kept going. "I tried your plan and it _didn't_ work. He said his love was greater than his disgust, and that relationship was about sacrifice, and all kinds of stuff like that! I tried _everything_!"

"Even the licorice mint?" Lilly questioned.

"Yes! It popped all over his _face_ and he _still_ didn't care," Miley defended herself. "What else was I supposed to do? Just flat-out reject him? He was already starting to tell that I did all that just to turn him off."

Lilly groaned. "Then _yes_ you should've told him Hannah wasn't interested! You did the exact same thing in the limo, Miley." She sighed at her friend's obliviousness. "You can't refuse Oliver because deep down you really like him and you don't want to hurt him."

"I don't want to hurt him because he's my friend!" Miley rebutted.

"He's been my friend longer, and _I _would have had no problem if I was in Hannah's shoes," Lilly stated simply. "And then on the phone?" She went into a poor, high-voiced mimicking of Miley as Hannah. "'I love you too Oliver...sweetie, honey, baby!'"

Miley glared. "I did _not_ say it like that!" she burst out. Calming down a little, she added, "Besides, I didn't really know what to say. Hannah is his girlfriend now and she has to sound like she's his girlfriend. Otherwise, he'll think she's just doing this out of pity."

"But according to you it _is_ out of pity," Lilly pointed out.

"Yeah, but _he_ can't know that or else he'll feel hurt, which is what I'm trying to prevent."

"How long are you going to keep this up? All the way to the wedding?"

That caused Miley's mouth to drop pretty far. "Wh—Lilly Truscott, I've had enough of your teasing!"

"Oh, come on, Miley, you know I'm just having fun!" Lilly laughed. "Honestly, you and Oliver getting married? Now _that_ would be something to see."

"Quit it. I'm going to need your help during all this, and your 'fun' isn't fun for me," Miley stated.

Lilly let out a mock groan. "My help? How did I get roped into this? Although..." She trailed off and a grin formed on her face.

Miley raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Although what?"

"Nothing!"

Miley didn't let it go that easy. "I know you and I know that face. So whatever crazy plan you've got cooking up there"—she tapped Lilly on the side of the head—"forget about it."

Lilly ignored her and changed the subject, a good sign that she wouldn't be taking any heed to Miley's command. "Is your voice lesson over?" she asked with a little smile.

"What voice lesson?"

"The one Oliver's waiting for Hannah to get out of," Lilly reminded her. "You promised to call him afterward."

Miley exhaled. "Oh, yeah. I guess I should get that out of the way." Miley pulled the Hannah phone back out of her pocket and quickly dialed Oliver's number.

He picked up on the first ring. What a shocker.

"HANNAH!"

Miley grimaced in pain and pulled the phone away from her ear until Oliver's voice grew quieter.

"I'm sorry, did I keep you waiting?" she asked.

"Put it on speaker," Lilly whispered into Miley's ear. "I won't talk."

Miley rolled her eyes but pressed the button anyways.

"Oh no, not at all! And it's not like I was watching the phone every second until I saw your number appear..." He laughed nervously.

Lilly fought back the urge to laugh herself, letting out an unintentional snort, and a smile pulled at Miley's lips.

"Anyways...um...I was wondering if you had plans tonight?" Oliver asked.

Lilly grabbed Miley's arm and nodded repeatedly, a huge smile on her face.

"Um...yes?" Miley replied.

"Oh. Well if you're busy I completely understand..." His disappointment was obvious.

Lilly's grip became viselike and she shook her head furiously.

"Ow!" Miley squeaked.

"What?" Oliver asked in concern.

"I mean now! No—I mean no!"

"Huh?" He was beginning to get _really_ confused.

"No I don't have plans, and yes I'll go out with you," Miley said in a rush.

Lilly gave her a thumbs up.

"Oh!" Oliver exclaimed in surprise and pleasure. "For sushi?"

"Sushi?" Miley repeated. She glanced at Lilly and they both shrugged. "Well, I do know that a Mikuni's recently opened nearby. How about I drop by your house at seven?"

Lilly and Miley heard a soft "wow," then something unintelligible.

"Oliver?" Miley prodded.

"Seven's great! Should I give you directions?"

The girls rolled their eyes, but Miley had no choice except to listen while he went on trying to explain how to get to his house. As he spoke, she muttered to Lilly, "That boy should not give _anyone_ directions. It's a good thing I already know how to get there."

Lilly stifled a laugh. "Tell me about it!" she whispered back.

"Did you get that?" Oliver was asking.

"Um, yeah. Got it. I'll see you at seven."

After they hung up, Miley glanced at her watch. "I should start getting ready; you know how long it takes me. I need to look really nice too."

"For Oliver?" Lilly teased as she got up to follow Miley to her room.

Miley's cheeks turned bright red. "_No_, for the restaurant. The place is nice, so I should look nice."

"Right, and that's the _only _reason," Lilly returned sarcastically.

Suddenly the front door opened and in strolled Jackson. Upon seeing his sister, he couldn't help but tease. "Hey Miles, how's life with the new boyfriend?"

Miley's mouth dropped open. "_What_? But how—_who_ told you?" she demanded, fists forming as she spoke.

Jackson grinned. "Got it straight from your boyfriend himself."

"Oliver told _you_?" Miley squeaked. "But Hannah specifically told him that he could only tell Lilly and me!"

"Well, I was talking to Jackson when Oliver came over to tell me." Lilly smiled sheepishly. "And he wasn't too quiet about it either," she added.

Miley raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you and _Jackson_ hang out together?"

"Uh, we—we don't!" Lilly burst out, her cheeks flushing a little.

"Gimme a break," Jackson broke out laughing. "I do _not_ hang out with eighth graders. Lilly was just ordering a hot dog at Rico's and I had no one better to talk to."

Lilly nodded before realizing the last part of his sentence. "Exactly...hey!" she cried out in offense.

"Look, Jackson," Miley sighed, "just don't tell anyone else."

"It's not like I'd have a reason to anyways," he shrugged.

Miley turned back to Lilly and grabbed her arm. "Come on, the Hannah closet is waiting."

"Ooh, can I borrow something while we're up there?" Lilly inquired excitedly.

Miley laughed. "Sure, why not?"

By the time the girls were finished with Miley's wig, outfit and make-up, Robbie Ray was downstairs in the kitchen preparing dinner.

"Oh good, Daddy, you're home!" Miley said happily as she bounced off the last step on the staircase and headed over towards her father.

"Hey, Mr. Stewart," Lilly added her greeting.

Robbie Ray gave his daughter a once-over and asked, "Is there a party tonight no one told me about?"

"Oh no," Lilly told him, an all too pleased smile on her face. "Hannah's going out with _Mr._ Hannah Montana," she laughed.

To Miley's surprise, her dad didn't appear shocked or upset whatsoever. "Have a good time and be home by ten," he instructed calmly, going back to his cooking.

"But—but—" Miley began to stutter.

Robbie raised his hands. "Hey, I knew it'd happen sooner or later. Tell Oliver I said hello."

Miley's mouth dropped. "It's not a real date!"

Lilly linked arms with her and led her towards the door. "You heard the man, Miley. Now go out there and make Oliver happy. All right?" she said cheerfully, a huge grin on her face. Miley just sighed.

The limo was ready and waiting when they stepped outside, right on schedule. Miley climbed in and Lilly waved as the white stretch vehicle drove away. The second it was gone, she ran back into the Stewarts' house. She and Jackson had a little something to discuss...

* * *

_**A/N: **Yeah, that's it. Told you it wasn't that interesting. I promise the next one will be better. Please review!_


	3. Sushi and Paparazzi

_**A/N:**_ _Wow, this fic has already made it into a community? Sweet. And I see it's been favorited and story alerted more...although something that bugs me is people who just story alert and don't review. So please review! I really want to know what you think of the story, what I can change, what you like, etc. Thanks everyone. :)  
_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana.

* * *

_**I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't**_

**Chapter 3: Sushi and Paparazzi  
**

* * *

Miley pulled out her compact mirror and checked her make-up again, just in case it had gotten smudged on the drive over or something.

It hadn't.

All right, so there was no use in denying that, well, she was _nervous. _Why? That's what she'd been trying to figure out. After all, this was Oliver. She'd been to his place a million times...but as Miley, not Hannah. Of course, it wasn't really like she could mess up anyhow; he was in love with Hannah no matter what. The scene at the beach that day had proven it for sure.

So, really the _only_ thing to worry about would be trying not to let her secret slip. Not like she worried about her secret twenty-four/seven anyhow...

Miley finally reached out and rang the doorbell. After all, the chauffeur was waiting...and so was Oliver.

She was sort of expecting him to be sitting right there by the foyer, counting down the minutes until seven arrived and his "goddess" would be waiting for him to answer. That's why it was a surprise to her when the door swung open to reveal his younger brother Marc. In fact, it was probably a bigger shock to Marc than anyone. He just stood there, mouth agape and eyes bugged out. Heck, it wasn't every day that a famous pop star like Hannah Montana came knocking.

It was Miley who broke the silence. "Is Oliver here? We were supposed to go out for sushi tonight."

"Oh my gosh, it's _Hannah Montana_!"

The scream almost shattered Miley's eardrums.

"See Marc, I told you!" Oliver called out, running over to join them at the door.

"Stay right here," Marc instructed Miley. "I have to get a camera!"

"Wait, but we have to—" Oliver tried to protest. It was too late. Marc had already dashed back into the house in search of one.

"It's all right, I do this _all _the time," Miley assured him with a laugh.

Oliver took his first good look at her, and his eyes widened a little. "Wow, Hannah, you look—"

"Found one!" Marc's voice exclaimed, not realizing he was interrupting anything. He slipped past Oliver to pose with Miley, placing his arm around her back. He held the digital camera out to his brother. "Take a picture of us!"

Oliver quickly snapped one and then gave the photographic device back. "We have to go now," he said firmly.

Marc didn't mind at all. With a "thanks for dating my brother" directed to Miley, he headed inside again to download the image to his computer and probably post it online for all to see.

Miley took a deep breath. "So, how _do _I look?" she let out with a small smile, self-consciously tugging at the bottom of the sequined mini dress she had on over a pair of leggings. Shimmery boots topped the whole rock star outfit off.

"Beautiful," he said adamantly, gazing at her in adoration. "But you don't need _me _to tell you that," he added.

"Well ya know, Oliver," Miley giggled, "you look pretty good yourself."

"Why thank you, Hannah," he beamed. Oliver brushed some imaginary lint off his dress shirt and linked arms with her while they strolled over to the waiting limousine. He then proceeded to open the car door for Miley, allowing her to slide in first.

"I didn't know you were such a gentleman," Miley joked as he slid in beside her.

Oliver grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, causing her to tense a little. "Well, honey, that's just the kind of guy I am."

Miley burst out giggling again at how ridiculous that sounded, and all the taut nerves relaxed. Wow, so far she actually might be having fun. Maybe it would be _nice_ having just some Miley/Oliver time...

Er, Hannah/Oliver time, that was.

"You know, this limo seems much nicer when I'm actually sitting inside it instead of hanging from the moon roof," Oliver commented, looking all around at the spacious black leather interior.

"I'll bet," Miley agreed, the smile not leaving her face. "Of course, I've never hung from the roof, so I wouldn't know," she added kiddingly.

Oliver laughed. "That's true. But I guess you'll just have to take my word for it."

"I guess so." She let out a happy sigh and rested her head against him. Funny, once she got over the fact that it was _Oliver_ holding her, it felt kind of good.

Whoa, that was an odd thing to think...and she definitely wasn't telling Lilly about it either. At least the teasing was somewhat bearable now, but if Miley ever shared any thoughts she'd had about Oliver that were even questionably more than platonic with Lilly, she knew it would be held over her head for who knew how long.

"Oh my gosh, is that a mini fridge?!" Oliver suddenly burst out, noticing the little white one in the corner. He was immediately fascinated and jerked forward, his arm slipping from its place on Miley's shoulder. "Does it, like, actually have _food_ in there?"

Miley rolled her eyes and smiled. Oh, yes, he was definitely still the same old Oliver. But then again, what guy didn't love food?

"Probably some drinks," she answered uninterestedly. "But we're almost to the restaurant anyways." Truth be told, she'd been comfortable as it was and hadn't wanted him to let go of her like that.

Within a few minutes, the limo pulled into the parking lot at Mikuni's. Oliver held her hand as they got out, causing a warm funny feeling to course through her arm, and he didn't let go all the way into the restaurant.

"This place is _tight_," he remarked as they entered through glass doors.

The two were immediately greeted by a teenaged Japanese waitress with enthusiasm. Apparently she was a fan of Hannah's music, and she let Oliver and Miley know what a cute couple they were. So much for keeping the relationship quiet, but at least the press wasn't all over it yet. All Miley could hope was that there weren't any reporters dining there that night.

She and Oliver were led to their table and after ordering sodas, Miley began browsing through the list of foods, which were all incredibly overpriced.

"Who pays two hundred dollars for some fancy fish?" she muttered, eyebrows furrowed.

"Who knows," Oliver shrugged. After a few moments of silence, he suddenly asked a question that caught her off guard. "So, Hannah, I was just wondering...what happened with your last boyfriend?"

Miley stopped dead, her face paling. Sweet niblets, she hadn't even thought up a story about that yet! Slowly she lowered the menu and just stared at him with her mouth open, no words coming out.

Oliver fidgeted with his hands in embarrassment. Obviously it must be a touchy subject, and he hadn't meant to put her on the spot.

"I mean, I know it was only today you broke up...but could I at least know his name?" he went on.

Miley didn't think twice; she said the first name that came to mind: "Marc."

Oliver's eyes widened big time. "_Marc_?" he repeated in shock. "That's my brother's name!"

Duh! What more of an idiot could she be? Miley felt like slapping herself in the forehead.

"Uh...well, my ex-boyfriend spelled his name with a _k_," she quickly fabricated.

Great, that just aroused more curiosity.

"How did you know my brother spelled it with a _c_?" Oliver asked in wonder.

"Um...he...he told me," Miley gulped. "At your house. When he answered. He said, 'My name's Marc! With a _c_!"

She just couldn't stop sounding stupid, could she?

"I bet he didn't tell you that his initials spell MOO."

Miley was completely surprised by that statement. He accepted her pathetic explanation? Wow, Oliver must be more gullible than she thought. Maybe it was his obsession that was blinding him to her obvious inability to lie well. Either that or he was just easily distracted.

"Um, no, he didn't," she answered.

"Yeah, his middle name is Orville," Oliver went on.

Miley couldn't help but laugh. Not only had Hannah never been told this before, neither had she. "Seriously?" she queried in wonder.

Oliver grinned. "Yep. That's why I'm glad that _my_ name is so much cooler."

"Oh yes, Oliver is a much cooler name than Orville," Miley giggled.

"And Triple _OOO_ is much cooler than MOO," Oliver added.

As they giggled and talked on, someone watching from a table nearby went unnoticed. Someone with a camera. And at the perfect moment, that camera would flash.

* * *

"_Miley!_"

She spun around at her locker to find Oliver hurrying over.

"Hey, Oliver, what's up?" Miley asked casually as he came to a stop beside her, looking a little unsettled and out of breath. She was expecting him to go into full detail about his date with Hannah Montana last night, and was a little surprised at what he said next.

"Amber and Ashley just _talked_ to me."

"What do you mean? Like, the usual insult or what?" she said curiously.

"No!" His eyes were wide, like he couldn't really believe it himself. "They said they saw me on some magazine and—"

"Hey guys!" a voice burst out suddenly. Both turned to find Lilly waving something in the air with a huge smile on her face. "Did you see this yet? Looks like Mr. and Mrs. Hannah Montana had a _wonderful_ time last night!"

Miley snatched the tabloid away from her in fury, and what she beheld on the cover didn't calm that anger one bit. It was a picture of Hannah and Oliver holding hands, with a headline that read "HANNAH DATES HER #1 FANNAH."

* * *

_**A/N: **Oh, in case anybody was wondering, I did give Oliver's younger brother the name of Mitchel's younger brother, but Orville isn't Marc Musso's middle name (LOL). And Mikuni's is a real restaraunt in California, but there aren't any of them in Malibu. The food there _is_ really overpriced, I was reading that there is actually a plate of a certain kind of sushi there that costs two hundred dollars. o.O (Not that any of you would care, but yeah.)  
_


	4. I Don't Almost Kiss and Tell

_**A/N:**_ _Well, I'm disappointed to say the reviews have been dropping...and I didn't have that many to begin with, so this is bad. So not to nag, but please, please review. I mean, if no one's reading I should stop writing, so please let me know if you want me to continue or not. All right, with that being said, onto the chapter...  
_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana.

* * *

_**I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't**_

**Chapter 4: I Don't Almost Kiss and Tell  
**

* * *

_How_ did this happen?

That was the question that'd been floating through Miley's mind all morning during her classes. She had yet to read the actual article, due to the bell ringing before she had a chance to. But it didn't matter. Now everyone would be asking questions about it. And she was _not _prepared for that yet.

News that big must spread pretty fast around Seaview Middle School, because girls were _already_ beginning to gawk at Oliver as they walked down the hall to the cafeteria. And to top that off, Miley could tell he was enjoying the attention, which was no help at all.

Of course, not that she was...erm..._jealous_ or anything...

"Give me that magazine," was the first thing out of Miley's mouth when she, Lilly and Oliver took seats at a round table for lunch.

"Sure!" Lilly agreed—a little too perkily in light of the pressing situation, Miley thought.

"Hey, I wanted to see it too!" Oliver burst out as Lilly handed the coveted object over to Miley.

"Well, Miley asked first so it looks like you'll have to wait," Lilly stated a little icily.

"But it's about me!" he protested.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "It's only _half_ about you," she corrected him.

"Don't worry, Oliver, you can have it when I'm done," Miley offered, flipping through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

But Oliver was way too impatient for that. Instead, he moved two seats over until he was sitting so close to her that he could read the page at the same time. Lilly couldn't help noticing that Miley didn't complain one bit about it.

"You two look awful couple-like," she teased. The claim fell on deaf ears...or they had just chosen to ignore it.

Suddenly Miley threw down the tabloid in anger. "I can't believe this!" she exclaimed.

"Wait! I wasn't finished!" Oliver burst out, reaching across the table for it.

"Did you see what they wrote about some 'inside source' who told them where you would be?" Miley demanded.

"I wonder who that could've been," Lilly blinked innocently.

"I mean, they knew all about Oliver too! They even mentioned he went to school here!" Miley continued.

"Why are you so upset?" Oliver asked in surprise. "This is great! Now the whole school knows! And Hannah and I no longer have to hide..._our love_."

The smirk that came over his face caused Lilly to erupt in laughter and Miley to groan.

"You don't get it Oliver! Now everyone's going to—"

"Hey Oliver! Ooh—tsss."

He and Miley turned to see Amber and Ashley hovering over them, doing that stupid finger thing.

"What could you two _possibly_ want over here?" Miley snapped. She sure as heck didn't need any more problems; this day had already been bad enough so far.

"_Somebody's_ in a grouchy mood," Ashley laughed.

"We were just going to ask _Oliver_"—Amber placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him flirtatiously—"why he was sitting here at the _losers'_ table." She glared at Miley pointedly.

"Um, let me think—because we're his _friends_," Miley reminded her angrily.

"Oh, I'm sorry...little Miss Jealous," Amber mocked her.

"Jealous?" Miley repeated in shock. "I am _not_ jealous!" She rose up out of her chair and continued yelling at the snobs. "Why does everyone keep saying I'm _jealous_?"

Amber and Ashley looked at her with raised eyebrows and smug little smiles, as Miley realized everyone in the cafeteria had stopped to stare at her. She quickly sat back down, a blush forming across her cheeks.

"So Oliver—" Amber continued.

"Do you want to sit with us?" Ashley quickly finished for her.

Oliver turned to look at Miley imploringly, feeling he needed her permission for some reason. She raised an eyebrow, he shrugged, she nodded, and then he was off with Amber and Ashley to spill the whole story to his newly found fan base.

"Wow, that was weird...and sweet of you, by the way," Lilly commented with a smile.

Miley sighed and rubbed her temples. "What are you talking about this time? And do I even want to know?"

"You and Oliver just had a conversation without talking! That's a big deal!" Lilly informed her.

"We're best friends; best friends do stuff like that," Miley reasoned. "It is _not_ a big deal."

"And the sweet part," Lilly went on, disregarding Miley's denial of the facts, "was that you let your beloved Ollie go with Amber and Ashley after they were being such jerks to you."

Miley narrowed her eyes into slits. "I'm not even going to answer that one, _Lillian_."

"Saying you're not going to answer _is_ an answer," Lilly retorted. "But anyways, it's like I said before"—she went into a singsong voice—"you can't refuse Oliver because deep down you really like him!"

"Please, Lilly, not this again! The real issue here is figuring out who leaked our date to the press!"

"Why do you care so much? It was bound to happen eventually," she mused.

"I care that one of my friends betrayed my trust!" Miley declared. She began to make a mental list of all the people who had known Hannah was dating Oliver. There was of course, Oliver, herself and Lilly; besides that it was only family members: Marc, maybe Mrs. Oken, her dad and..._Jackson_.

Jackson! Of course! Who else would have done something like this?

"When I get home I am _so _going to kill him!" Miley erupted, her hands clenching into fists so hard that her knuckles started to turn white.

Lilly's eyes widened. "Whoa, Miley! _Who_ are you killing?"

"Jackson! He's the only person I know who would want to humiliate me like this!"

"No, you can't!" Lilly blurted out.

Miley raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Um...well, what if he wasn't trying to humiliate you?" Lilly asked a bit uneasily.

Well, that was utterly ridiculous.

Miley rolled her eyes. "Come _on_, this is Jackson. He would totally find something like this entertaining."

"Maybe...it wasn't his fault!"

"Then whose fault was it?" Miley asked bluntly.

"Maybe it was _half_ his fault. But it wasn't his idea!" Lilly quickly added.

This girl was acting _so_ strange!

"Lilly, do you know who leaked the story or not?" Miley demanded in exasperation, growing more impatient by the minute.

"Yes..." Her voice was so quiet it sounded more like a squeak.

"_Well_?"

"It was Jackson..._and_ me."

Miley was completely shocked, and Lilly braced herself for the bomb to go off. Even though her intentions had been good, she wasn't sure Miley would be very understanding of the explanation Lilly had to offer.

But, thankfully for her, Miley never had the chance to blow. Instead, some commotion over at the "popular" table distracted the both of them.

"You almost _kissed_?!" Ashley was shrieking.

Miley and Lilly's mouths dropped ten feet when they heard it, but Lilly's quickly turned into an amused smirk whereas Miley just looked scared.

"When were you going to tell me, _Hannah_?" Lilly whispered with a giggle.

"Sorry, I don't almost kiss and tell," Miley whispered back sarcastically.

She was going to say something else, but they were once again unsettled by the other table's conversation.

"Are you going to kiss her next time?" Amber asked excitedly.

Miley turned in her seat to catch Oliver's response.

_Please say no, please say no,_ she willed him with all her might, biting her lip in nervousness.

Oliver grinned, clearly basking in the attention they were giving him. "Probably," answered, trying to sound as if he was used to smooching celebrities and it was no big deal to him.

Miley spun back around to face Lilly. Her face was white as a sheet, and she was completely and utterly _terrified_ at the thought of Hannah's next date.

"He's going to kiss me," she whispered, starting to feel a little sick when she heard it come out of her own mouth. "What do I do, Lilly, what do I do?" she asked, growing a little frantic.

"Just close your eyes, count to sixty, and it'll be over before you know it!" Lilly replied cheerfully.

Miley's eyes widened. "_Sixty_?" she repeated in horror. "I _cannot _do that!"

"Come on, it won't be _that_ bad. Oliver will be happy," Lilly reminded her with a smile, "and what could be better than that?" She knew, and other people probably had noticed, that Miley would usually give _anything_ to make sure her little Ollie was happy.

"I got it!" Miley suddenly exclaimed, apparently not paying attention to Lilly's last bit of advice. "Oliver _won't _be kissing Hannah on our next date, and you know why? Because _you're_ coming with us!"

"_What_?"

The plan was foolproof. "You'll get him to ask Hannah if you can go too, and then if he even _thinks _about kissing me, you'll distract him!"

"Miley, you're overreacting!" Lilly declared. "It's one kiss. And you don't even know for sure if he's going to kiss Hannah, he just said probably. I mean, for all we know he was just saying it to impress everyone."

"I'm not willing to take that chance," Miley said firmly. "Now, I'll go to the bathroom and you go get Oliver to call Hannah and ask if he can bring you along next time, OK?"

Lilly reluctantly gave in. "All right," she sighed.


	5. Do Blondes Have More Fun?

_**A/N:**_ _Haha, I just noticed this fic has 666 hits. It'll probably go up before I post this (at least I hope so), but still_—_the Antichrist's number! Ahhh, everybody run for your lives! Haha, sorry about that. I find it hilarious. I was a HUGE Left Behind fan...and I'm hyper on Vault... Yes, shutting up now. xD_

_Oh, and the reviews did go back up (in fact it was the most reviews I've gotten so far), so a huge THANK YOU! to everyone who reviewed the last chapter (especially to Mike and Theresa_—_you two are my favorite-ists... :D)! And that's why I felt the sudden urge to write again right away. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana.

* * *

_**I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't**_

**Chapter 5: Do Blondes Have More Fun?  
**

* * *

"It was the best night of my life!"

Oh, yeah, like _that_ wasn't obvious. Like he hadn't said it 78,698,736,408 times already. Like—

"Ooh, sounds like Hannah _loved_ her ride on the Ollie Trolley," Lilly smirked. "Right, Miley?"

Miley flashed an annoyed smile. "Oh, of _course_ she did," she replied, trying to keep her voice from dripping with sarcasm for Oliver's sake.

On the bus ride home, Mrs. Oken had called her son and he was greeted with her man voice when he answered. Apparently, paparazzi had started to camp around his house with questions about his relationship with Hannah, and his mom was afraid if he came home that they would go out of control. That was how Miley got sucked into letting him and Lilly join her for a sleepover at the Stewart residence. And that was also why she'd been forced to hear him go on, and on, and _on_ about how great last night had been, with Lilly taking every opportunity that Oliver was obliviously handing out to tease Miley.

Oh, and it also made it impossible to get any homework done. Miley seriously did not think she could last the night with these two.

"I mean, she even laughed at all my jokes!" he gushed. "I don't think any girl has ever done that before!"

"I guess I'm not a girl then," Miley huffed under her breath.

She tried not to take it personally; he probably wasn't counting best friends anyhow. He was just so taken with Hannah that every single little detail like that was a big deal to him. Right. That was all.

Jackson found this a great time to stop making his snack in the kitchen and come into the living room to make a smart aleck comment.

"Ooh, that's serious," he told Oliver. "That's how my dad knew my mom was in _loooove_ with him."

He grinned at Miley tauntingly and Lilly gave him a high five. Miley shot daggers at them both. Correction: she _definitely_ could not last the night with these _three_.

Oliver's face absolutely lit up. "_Really_? Wow, she really does love me." He looked mesmerized at the thought.

Lilly and Jackson were definitely out to get her. The story leaking was only the beginning with them.

But why? What had innocent Miley ever done to them that they would be so heartless towards her? Jackson was almost understandable, but Lilly? And she called herself Miley's best friend. Ha.

"And now that you know for _sure_ she loves you," Lilly kept egging the boy on, "it's time to take your relationship to the next level."

Oliver's eyes widened. "That's exactly what I was thinking! Man, you guys're good."

"Oh no, we're the _best_," Jackson put in.

"You know what?" Miley finally interjected. "I don't think it's very smart to be getting relationship advice from two people who couldn't get dates if their lives depended on it!" Her voice rose with each word.

"Somebody's a little cranky," Jackson commented.

"Miley, are you OK?" Oliver asked in concern.

"Fine! Never better!" she snapped.

Lilly ignored her friend's _childish_ behavior and went on, "So Oliver, you _are_ going to kiss Hannah soon right?"

Miley's mouth dropped farther than it ever had before. She couldn't have—she said—!

"He doesn't have to kiss her if he doesn't want to!" Miley burst out angrily.

Oliver turned to her in shock. "But...I _do_ want to kiss her," he said softly, almost whispering.

Miley gazed into those chocolate eyes, and it sent a shiver down her spine. She almost felt the urge to lean in and—

"I've wanted to ever since I laid eyes on her beautiful_, blonde_ hair."

Oh no. He just had to go there. He just had to! That was it, she was fed up with this.

Miley stood and yelled at him, "You're impossible! How am I supposed to study when all you can talk about is _Hannah Montana_? I don't care how your date went! I don't care if you want to kiss her because she has blonde hair! I don't care about—I just don't care!"

She snatched up her textbook, stormed upstairs to her room, and slammed the door so hard that the sound carried, leaving Oliver in one big cloud of confusion...and hurt.

"Oliver, _why_ did you bring the blonde hair into the mix?" Lilly groaned. She knew he couldn't help it, but sometimes that doughnutiness of his could really create some problems.

"Hey, it wasn't his fault!" Jackson defended him. "Miley _totally_ overreacted for no reason. And believe me, it's not the first time," he added to Oliver with a knowing look.

Oliver just stared blankly ahead, his mind trying to process what had happened. "I think...I think I need to talk to her," he decided.

* * *

She knew it was her fault. She knew she shouldn't have shouted at him like that, she knew he probably hated her right now. And she felt really guilty about it. She really should march down there and apologize, but honestly she was a little afraid to.

She should also at least _start_ on her homework, but who could focus on math at a time like this?

As she sighed and flopped onto her bed, she heard a soft knock and a voice.

"Miley?"

It was Oliver.

He was probably there to yell at her for yelling at him. She buried her face in her hands and prayed he would just go away.

"Miley, please let me in."

He didn't sound like an angry person wanting to tell her off. He sounded...remorseful.

"I'm sorry."

OK, so he _was_ remorseful. But why was _he_ sorry? She was the one who should be begging for forgiveness, not vice versa.

"I think...I think I know what this is about."

He did? That caught her attention. Well, he probably didn't, not really. He was a doughnut, albeit a cute one, but doughnuts don't figure out their best friend is really their girlfriend and is jealous of them liking their girlfriend more than their best friend...when they're really the same people...

Yeah, even she lost where she was going with that sentence.

"Miley, you are in there aren't you? Please at least yell at me so I know you're not dead or something."

That incited a pretty loud giggle, and his smile widened when he heard it. He loved making her laugh. And now that he thought about it, gosh that laugh sounded familiar. Well, duh, Oliver, you've known Miley for years. But it was familiar like he'd heard it from someone who wasn't Miley...

He didn't have time to dwell on it. Slowly the door opened a few inches, just enough for her to peek out at him.

"Can I come in?"

A smile pulled at the corners of her lips, and with a good-natured sigh she finished swinging it open, allowing him to come inside her room and sit down next to her on her bed. She waited in silence until he spoke up once more.

"You really are jealous, aren't you?"

"Why do people keep saying that?" Miley burst out in frustration.

"I'm sorry!" he quickly blurted out, not wishing to send her into another rampage. It was the first thing she'd said out loud to him so far, and that wasn't good. "I meant that...well... I've never had a girlfriend before and in the past couple days, I guess I haven't been spending as much time with you."

He glanced up into her eyes and continued, "Then when I have been with you, it's been all about Hannah. I never really thought that maybe you might feel sort of left out."

"No, _I'm_ sorry," Miley responded. "I overreacted, and I still can't believe I yelled at you like that. You're _supposed_ to love your girlfriend, and her...beautiful, _blonde_ hair...which isn't brown..."

Oliver chuckled slightly. "I like brown hair too, Miley," he said softly, a small smile on his face.

Slowly he reached out to tuck a strand of her brunette locks behind her ear. Her skin felt tingly again as his hand brushed against it in the process. A blush was coming on, and she glanced away in an effort to hide it from him, not realizing that his face was coloring too.

"So...to make you feel better, I promise not to call, text or even _talk_ about Hannah tonight." Oliver placed a hand on his heart. "I, Oliver Oscar Oken, swear to give my best friend, Miley Hope Stewart, my undivided attention for the rest of the evening, so help me God."

"What are we doing, signing contracts or something?" Miley couldn't help but giggle. "Does this really look like a courtroom to you?"

As she spoke, she started glancing around her room, which is when Oliver sneakily reached out his hand to tickle her stomach and completely caught her off guard. Miley burst out laughing and fell down on her back, and he continued the tickling, leaning over her for a better position until he was practically on top of her. It was probably a good thing no one walked in at that moment...

"_Oliver_!" Miley squealed, trying to grab his hands in a failed attempt to stop him.

Finally he tired of it himself and rolled over next to her with a pleased sigh, and a smile. She turned his head towards his, their faces only centimeters apart.

"You really meant what you said, about taking a break from Hannah tonight?" she breathed out, her eyes locked onto his.

"Of course."

Wow. He'd sacrifice his bubble gum disgust for Hannah, but he'd sacrifice Hannah—for a night—for Miley.

"You'd better watch it," she warned him with a smile. "If you get any sweeter than this I'd have to kiss you. And I don't know how Hannah would feel about that."

* * *

_**A/N: **Ah, the fluffyness. I loved it, but give it to me straight, was it completely awful? I'm finishing this up at practically 1 AM, so forgive any errors or OOC-ness.  
_


	6. I Want You To Want Me To Kiss You

_**A/N: **Whoa, last chapter had the most reviews ever so far! Thanks so much you guys! Sorry for the late update, I kinda got stuck a bit...and then when I was on a roll, my mom decided to take a car trip and I've been catching up with friends. So yup. This chapter is really long, though, so I hope it makes up for the wait.  
_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana.

* * *

_**I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't**_

**Chapter 6: I Want You To Want Me...To Kiss You  
**

* * *

"Aww, Miles and Ollie made up!" Lilly exclaimed joyfully, clapping her hands in excitement as the two walked down the stairs with smiles on their faces.

"Made up...or made _out._" Jackson smirked.

Lilly's eyes widened and an amused smile began to form on her face. She quickly covered her mouth, attempting to suppress the giggles that were bound to follow.

"_EWWWWW!_"

The volume of Miley's shriek was so loud that it made everyone cringe.

"That's _disgusting!_"

Oliver just studied his shoes, his face growing hot.

Jackson chuckled and shook his head, expecting such a reaction from his younger sister. "Come on, Miles, it was right there!"

"Besides, if you weren't doing that, what _did_ take you so long up there?" Lilly added with a laugh.

"We were just talking," Miley said with a huff. She tried to act casually and threw in a shrug for good measure as she made her way over to the couch. Oliver remained silent, following behind her like a devoted puppy dog.

"About what?" Lilly persisted.

"Making out?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Miley's hand made a sharp contact with his shoulder, leaving behind a painful sting and making him wish he'd kept his thoughts to himself...no matter how amusing they were.

"Ow!" Jackson whined, rubbing the sore spot in an effort to relieve the aching.

"Serves you right!" Miley declared, still a little steamy.

Lilly once again fought back the urge to laugh at her antics, not wishing to end up the same way Jackson had. That was the thing about teasing Miley; you had to know where to draw the line. Jackson obviously lacked discernment in that department. Which was _precisely_ why he needed Lilly's guidance.

In fact, when she thought about it, Lilly found it kind of funny that the two of them had started spending time together when Miley was tied up in Oliver drama. But she didn't really mind it at all. Actually, it was sort of fun.

Miley sighed and sat down next to Lilly. Ignoring the open space next to Jackson, Oliver squeezed in between Miley and the sofa arm, forcing everyone to move over.

"We weren't making out, and we weren't _talking _about making out," Miley stated firmly, hoping that would close the subject.

To her chagrin, Oliver chose that moment to speak up.

"Well, actually, Miley, you did say you would have to ki—"

Instantly Miley's arm snaked out and her hand clamped over his mouth, cutting him off.

"—ill you!" she burst out. "I said I was going to _kill_ you if you didn't _stop talking_."

A meaningful glare accompanied her last two words, and she felt Oliver's lips form into a smile under her palm. A funny feeling shot up her arm and she quickly pulled it away.

"Kill him, huh?" Lilly repeated with a smile. Such a claim seemed silly when you took into consideration the fact that Miley was sitting so close to him they could've been stuck together, and also that she'd left her hand attached to Oliver's face for much longer than was necessary.

"I thought you two were making ou—" Jackson swiftly caught himself. "—up. Making up."

Miley rolled her eyes. "I said I would kill him _before_ we made _up_. All right?"

OK, so she _had_ joked about kissing him—and now that she thought about it, it probably hadn't been the smartest thing to do—but that was still different than the two of them having a serious talk about making out, like Jackson seemed to think they had.

"OK, I believe you," Lilly's voice cut into her thoughts.

Something told Miley she didn't mean that one bit.

"So what _did_ you talk about?"

_Finally_ they were moving onto a better subject.

"Oliver said he's going to completely forget about Hannah Montana for the entire night!" Miley exclaimed happily, a huge smile on her face.

Lilly and Jackson started to laugh and then realized Miley was being serious.

"Whoa, Oliver, you really think you can do it?" Lilly asked in amazement.

"You just got together yesterday!" Jackson threw in.

"After two years of obsessing!" Lilly added.

"Of course I can!" Oliver replied confidently, wrapping an arm around Miley's shoulders and smiling at her fondly. "It's just me and my best girl bud tonight, right Miles?"

Oh, no. She knew he expected her to agree with him, or at least smile and nod in reply, but suddenly all she wanted to do was bury her face in his shirt. It reminded her too much of the limo ride they had shared together. He was trying to be sweet, dang it, but _why_? Didn't he realize how hard it was not to glom onto him when he did that? Ugh, if only she was Hannah all the time; then a public display of affection _wouldn't_ be extremely awkward right now...or better yet, if he was in love with Miley instead of Hannah—

_No._

No, she had not just thought that! She was _not_ falling for Oliver, no matter how sweet he was, how good it felt when...

"Miley?"

She looked up at him and realized he was still waiting for a response from her.

"Oh, right! Mm hmm, just you and me." She flashed him a grin.

"Well, gosh, nice to know how much _I'm_ appreciated around here," Lilly said sarcastically. "I guess you wouldn't give Hannah up for _me_, now would you?"

Oliver opened his mouth and then hesitated a little. "You're probably right," he gave in with a shrug.

"I knew it!" Lilly gasped. She sprang up off the couch, pulling a surprised looking Jackson up with her. "Come on, Jackson, let's go study somewhere else!"

"But—" he began to protest.

"Ah!" Lilly cut him off, throwing him a look.

"Um...I'm just gonna...grab my stuff?" Jackson asked nervously, picking up his textbooks from the coffee table. He let out a relieved breath when Lilly seemed to approve.

"Where are you two even gonna go?" Miley giggled.

"My room?" Jackson suggested with a shrug.

"Ugh!" Miley's eyes went wide and her nose wrinkled in disgust. "There should be a sign on your door that says 'WARNING: Do not enter. The consequences could be hazardous to your _health_!'"

"It can't be that bad," Lilly laughed.

Miley shuddered. "_Trust_ me, I've been there."

"How about the deck?" Oliver spoke up. "Then everyone will be happy."

"Oh, so you'll be happy when I leave?" Lilly exclaimed, her offense evident and this time authentic.

"I sure won't be complaining!" Oliver shot back.

"How dare you—"

"_Lilly_," Jackson's voice cut into the midst. He latched onto her arm and began pulling her away from Oliver. "Do you remember _why_ we're leaving?"

"Yeah!" she burst out angrily. "Because Oliver is rude and all he cares about is Mi—_ohh._"

After a short pause of realization, an embarrassed smile formed on her face and she waved her hand at the two still seated on the couch. "Carry on."

They watched as she and Jackson headed toward the deck, arms now linked. Their laughter could be heard even when they were no longer in seeing range.

Oliver simply shook his head. "And they say_ we're_ obvious."

Miley giggled at the truth in that statement. "We should be the ones teasing _them_ about making out." Instantly her face went from amused to disgusted. "_Ew_. I so did not need that mental image."

* * *

"Morning, Jackson!" Lilly burst out loudly, bouncing into the kitchen with a huge smile on her face. She headed straight for the fridge to get out some milk. "I didn't know you were up already!" she added cheerfully as she began preparing her breakfast.

"If you're this hyper now, I don't even want to be around when you finish all that sugary cereal," he joked in reply.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "I'm not the one with enough syrup on my plate for twenty pancakes!"

He held a finger to his lips. "Shh. We have to be quiet."

She let out a laugh. "Why? You don't want your dad to know you're abusing poor Mrs. Butterworth here?"

Jackson cracked a grin. "Very funny, but no."

"Then why are we whispering?" Lilly asked curiously.

"Not all of us are up yet."

When he was met with a confused face in return, he let out a sigh. "Come here, I'll show you." Getting up off his stool and grabbing her by the arm so she'd follow him, Jackson led Lilly over to the living room.

Lilly gasped when she saw what he was talking about. She unknowingly grabbed onto his hand, giving it a tight squeeze to keep her squeal contained.

Blankets and pillows had been spread out on the floor the previous night when the foursome had decided to watch a movie after finishing up their schoolwork. When it was over, Lilly had retired to Miley's room and Jackson to his own, but Miley and Oliver had already fallen asleep and they had agreed that it would be best not to disturb them.

Well, apparently they _still_ hadn't waken up yet, and seeing them all curled up together was just about the cutest thing in the world.

"I think she must've rolled over sometime during the night," Jackson whispered.

Sure enough, Miley was now sprawled out almost completely on top of Oliver, her face buried into his shoulder and part of his neck. One arm was clutching his shirt and the other was just sort of dangling out over his left side.

"We need a picture of this!" Lilly said excitedly, trying to remain as quiet as possible.

"Two steps ahead of ya." Jackson pulled out a cell phone and showed her. "My dad took it before he went jogging."

"See, even your dad approves. Why can't Miley just accept she's fallen for him?" Lilly asked exasperatedly.

Jackson wasn't quite paying attention, however. "How much do you think it's worth if we sell it to The National Inquiry?"

Lilly smacked his arm. "If we give _this_ to them, they'll print out a story about Oliver cheating on Hannah with Miley!" she whisper-yelled.

"You're right," Jackson mused. Then his eyes lit up. "I'll go get her wig and we'll take a new picture!"

Lilly smacked him again. "Do you want Oliver to find out? Besides, that story was a _one_ time deal so Miley couldn't hide their relationship. We are _not_ sleazy paparazzi here."

"Yeah, but—" Jackson was in the middle of sighing when suddenly the two were distracted by a slight moan coming from Miley's direction.

"_Oliver..._"

Lilly's eyes widened and she gripped Jackson's shoulder hard...a little _too_ hard, maybe.

"Ow!" he whined.

"_Shhh!_"

"_Oliver_," Miley was moaning again.

This time he must have heard it, because he shifted slightly in his sleep. His left arm wrapped up around her back and he mumbled something beyond understandability.

"_Oliver_."

She was certainly persistent.

Oliver's mouth stretched into a huge yawn, and his eyelids fluttered a bit, but he kept them shut. As he slowly regained consciousness, the first thing that came to mind was that dream he'd had. She had _kissed_ him in it—not Hannah, but Miley! It scared him a little, actually. A few jokes about some Miley kissage, and now he was fantasizing about it at night. He had a girlfriend, the best girlfriend in the whole world, and now was not the time to be having more than friendship feelings toward your best friend, no sirree. That was way too problematic.

Suddenly the scent of pancakes was wafting towards him and his stomach growled. If there was one thing that could get him going in the morning, it was food. He started to lift himself up, and as soon as he did, he could feel something fairly heavy holding him down. What in the...

"_Oliver_..."

Stark terror gripped him. That was no something, it was a some_one_! A _Miley_ someone! He'd recognize that voice anywhere!

He opened his eyes immediately, only to see that he was right. She was laying there on top of him, and was he...yes! He was holding her!

"_Oliver_."

Her voice was a bit whinier this time, and his heart rate calmed a little as he got the funny feeling that she wanted something from him. Then suddenly he felt an irresistible force drawing his eyes to her lips...those beautiful lips that were saying his name over and over. The same beautiful, perfect lips that had just been caressing his own in the dream he'd had.

As he stared at them, he realized that her face wasn't too far from his. It would be easy enough to close the space in between them, and she _was_ still asleep so it's not like she'd resist him. In fact, maybe that's what she was whining about. She _wanted_ him to kiss her. She was the one who said if he was any sweeter...

_Yeah, and then denied it when I brought it up again._

But that was in front of Jackson and Lilly. She was probably just embarrassed. And she probably wanted them to stop teasing her, and admitting she'd said that wasn't going to help anything.

"_Oliver_."

That was it. There was no denying it in his mind; she wanted him to kiss her as much as he wanted himself to. Even if it was just her subconscious that wanted it, the desire was still there.

So he made the first move. He inched his face closer to hers, almost there but not quite yet...

"Oliver?"

That was _not_ a sleepy, whiny, I-want-you-so-bad kind of voice. It was more like the I'm-awake-now, what-are-you-doing kind! And as soon as he heard it, he sat up immediately, heart racing, and ended up pushing her off of himself in his frenzy.

Which was the _last_ thing he'd wanted to do.

And then he heard the uninvited and unwelcomed sounds of two people laughing.

And he knew his life was over.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Was it wonderful, horrible, somewhere in between? Let me know. :)_


	7. Emotional Suppression

_**A/N:** Yes, I know some of you may want to kill me for this seriously late update. And I apologize. I've been busy with school, graphics, my YouTube account, my Christian service project...and a sudden new crisis type thing that's come up (speaking of which, if any of you pray, then could you say a prayer for me?). Anyways, I finally managed to post this, so I hope you like it!  
_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana.

* * *

**_I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't_**

**Chapter 7: Emotional Suppression  
**

* * *

Miley blinked her eyes slowly, still half-asleep and quite stunned at Oliver's actions. She glanced from him to Lilly and Jackson, who were having a laugh attack at the moment.

"I wasn't trying to—well, OK, I _was_ trying to—" Oliver was stuttering frantically, trying to find the right combination of words that would fix this. "What I mean is—it was the floor! It was so uncomfortable...I got barely any sleep! So I was only half-awake! And, and—"

Miley furrowed her eyebrows at him, wondering what the heck he was even babbling on about.

"Well, you sure looked all cozy and comfortable when Miley was _cuddling_ you!" Lilly giggled. "I don't think the floor was bothering you at all then!"

"Wh—you—" Oliver fumbled, his cheeks now the deepest shade of red possible. "Don't you know it's rude to spy?!"

"Is someone worried we'll show Hannah the picture we took of you two?" Jackson asked, Lilly joining him for another yuk fest as soon as the words left his mouth.

Oliver's eyes widened in horror. He hadn't even thought about what Hannah would think of all this! She couldn't find out, not ever! Just when things were going good between them, too. Why did he have to be so stupid? A doughnut, that's what Miley called him. Well, this doughnut had just blown his chances of ever marrying the girl of his dreams.

All right, the girl of _most_ of his dreams, that was. After all, he _had_ been dreaming about _Miley_ last night and not his blonde popstar girlfriend...

"What's...going on here?" Miley finally asked drowsily, interrupting Oliver's worried thoughts.

Lilly stepped over towards her and handed her the cell phone displaying the incriminating picture on its screen, figuring that would answer most, if not all, of Miley's questions.

"Why were you guys—_oh._"

She was still a little sluggish, but once she realized just _who_ was in the photo, and just _how_ she was clinging to him like that, she couldn't help but look a little scared. Glancing up at Oliver, she burst out, "I didn't know I was hugging _you_! I was dreaming I was hugging..."

Miley's voice trailed off as she began remembering that it _had_ been Oliver in her dream...and she definitely couldn't use _that_ as an excuse. Was there no way out of this?

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," Lilly toyed with her, trying to keep an innocent look on her face. "_Who_ were you dreaming about?"

"Uh...my pillow," Miley answered lamely, trying to avoid her best friend's gaze.

"Then why were you _moaning_ Oliver's name over and over?"

_WHAT!?_ Miley's head screamed. She had done that _out loud?!_

_Lord, take me now!_ she pleaded silently but desperately, almost expecting her heart to stop.

"Y—you must've heard me wrong," Miley finally stuttered to the three, only hoping her face didn't reveal the absolute terror gripping her at that particular moment.

"Oh?" Jackson raised a dubious eyebrow, quite interested in what wild explanation she'd give them next.

"I said...uh..._olives're_... Yeah, olives are, but put together with a contraction!"

There was a slight pause, and then, "Oh. That makes sense." Oliver was nodding slowly, genuinely seeming to buy it.

Miley didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until she let it out in relief, inaudibly offering up a prayer of thanks for her guy friend's gullibility.

Her heart was still beating fast as she diverted her gaze to Lilly and Jackson—to find that while the latter had lost interest and was heading back to the kitchen to finish his breakfast, Lilly was still examining Miley suspiciously.

"What?" Miley asked, her tone revealing her annoyance at Lilly's inability to let this go. She stood up and smoothed out her wrinkled top, realizing she was still in her movie jammies. "If you'll excuse me, I have to change," Miley declared firmly, heading off towards the stairs and hoping Lilly wouldn't follow her for more questioning.

To her dismay, she heard Lilly's feet pitter-pattering on the steps behind her. "Miley...," she began to say as they both reached the top and entered Miley's room.

Miley whirled around, an angry frown darkening her pretty face. "Lilly, I am sick and tired of you and Jackson '_helping_.'" She formed air quotes around the last word for further emphasis.

Lilly let out a sigh. "Miley, c'mon. You were _dreaming_ about him."

"Whether I was or not, you and Jackson and your annoying laughing didn't help things at all!"

Yikes. She did have a point there. Lilly would have to hold herself back next time her two best were having a little moment...but unfortunately, convincing Jackson to do the same would be a bigger challenge.

"Miley, I'm _sorry_. But the way Oliver looked like he was going to kiss you or something, and then how he shoved you away the second you woke up—it was just so _funny_!" Even the memory brought an amused smile to Lilly's face.

"Oh yeah. Hilarious," Miley agreed sarcastically.

"But—"

"Do you have any idea how _embarrassing_ that was? I'm just glad Oliver was stupid enough to believe my dumb excuse."

"So it _was_ an excuse!" Lilly exclaimed triumphantly.

Miley rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Lilly, why would I be dreaming about olives?" She wrinkled her nose. "They're so nasty."

"You _have_ to tell him!" Lilly insisted.

"Tell him what? That olives are nasty?" Miley asked in confusion.

"No! That you were dreaming about him after all!"

"That's crazy! He loves Hannah, remember? And I do _not_ love him."

Lilly raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, I love him...as a brother and nothing more!"

Lilly groaned. "Then why—," she started to protest.

Miley cut her off, already knowing what she was about to ask. "I was dreaming about Oliver was because I've been wrapped in Oliver drama for the past few days now. Plus, you and Jackson were egging it on last night. That's _it_. The _only_ reason."

"You keep telling yourself that, Miley"—Lilly patted her softly on the back sympathetically—"You just keep telling yourself that."

Little did they know that somewhere downstairs, Oliver was telling himself something similar.

* * *

Miley felt nothing short of uncomfortable as she climbed into the backseat of Jackson's car, Oliver following behind her. As she adjusted her seat belt, she couldn't help but realize the irony of the situation. When she _wanted_ Jackson to drive her to school, he never would; and now, when she would rather _walk_ to school then be stuck in the backseat with Oliver, Jackson just _had_ to offer his services.

Of course, this was all Lilly's fault. How her disgusting older brother had developed some sort of crush on her best friend she would never know or understand. But it sure had been causing a lot of problems lately.

For instance, the fact that he had even offered to drive them in the first place, and how he had looked...oh..._eager_ to maybe?! AND how Lilly had basically screamed "SHOTGUN!" at the top of her lungs after that! Despite the fact that she _knew_ how embarrassed Miley was about that morning and how Miley was trying to _avoid_ Oliver until the awkwardness went away.

"Shoot...," Oliver suddenly muttered beside her, snapping her out of her brooding.

"What?" Miley asked casually.

"I haven't called Hannah since yesterday afternoon and she's probably waiting _anxiously_ to hear from me," he sighed.

Which, translated, probably meant "...and _I'm_ waiting _anxiously_ to hear from _her_."

Miley bit her lip as she watched him reach for his cell phone, then pull up Hannah's number from his recent calls list.

"Don't!" she burst out at precisely the same time he was hitting the green call button.

"What the—"

Before Oliver could even process what was happening, Miley had snatched the device right out of his hands and terminated the call.

He would've been mad at anyone else, or at least annoyed, but for some reason when her hands had brushed against his, it...it felt...well, funny, for lack of a better word. It was that same tingling sensation he got whenever his skin made the slightest contact with Hannah's.

But _Miley's_? That wasn't normal, was it? It had never happened before when he touched her, at least not that he had noticed. Especially not when she was just grabbing his phone from him, something you could hardly call romantic...unless you were Lilly, grasping to find flirtatious interactions between him and Miley that just didn't exist.

"What...why did you just do that?" Oliver suddenly questioned, his bewildered brown eyes gazing into her blue-gray ones.

"I—I was just thinking that maybe you should text her because maybe since she's home schooled, being famous and definitely _not_ normal, she's sleeping in and if you call her it'll wake her up!" Miley spurted out a never ending stream of rambles. The words came out so fast that Oliver had to take a moment to understand what she was trying to say.

"OK...I guess I'll text her then...," he replied slowly, a little disappointed when he realized she thought he was talking about the phone, although unsure why. It's not like she had gotten that same tingling feeling, and even if she had, how could she possibly know that he had too? He mentally shook it off, telling himself it was just a freak thing, that he had probably imagined it, it wouldn't happen again, and that no matter what was going on, there was no way he was now attracted to his best friend in a more than friendly way.

Miley let out a small breath in relief to the texting comment, and then handed his cell back to him. He almost gasped when the same sensation shot up his arm, this time a little stronger than it had been before. Without thinking, he grabbed onto her proffered hand with both of his and held onto it a bit longer than necessary. She looked a little startled, and a blush crept up her neck as he ever so slowly pried the phone from her fingers, but she certainly wasn't complaining or pulling away.

When he finally had it back, he flipped it open to text his girlfriend, but suddenly he'd forgotten everything that he'd wanted to say to her. What was he doing worrying about some stupid tingling feeling with Miley when he still hadn't called or texted Hannah? Hannah was the one he was in love with, the one he should be doting on, and Miley was his best friend, yes...but that was all. He needed to stop this nonsense, whatever it was.

He started punching in a message, mentally shaking his head all the while. Stupid phone. Stupid, stupid phone.

* * *

_**A/N: **Yeah, it wasn't that great, I know. Let me know if you still want me to continue this. xP  
_


	8. Flawless

_**A/N: **Wow, thanks for all of the reviews for the last chapter! That was the most I've gotten on any chapter up to now! I definitely wasn't expecting that many, especially since it wasn't one of my best. Well hopefully this update is better, and I really tried to get it up quicker although that didn't seem to work out. But thank goodness Thanksgiving Break is soon, right? :)  
_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana.

* * *

**_I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't_**

**Chapter 8: Flawless  
**

* * *

Well, Mrs. Oken sure hadn't been joking.

Reporters, paparazzi and basically anyone having anything to do with media _period_ were all there, and they went into a frenzy when Hannah's limousine pulled into Oliver's driveway that evening. They called out her name, shouted questions at her and flashed pictures as she tried to weave her way through them to get to the front door of the house. A wave of guiltiness swept over her as she knocked. When _she_ went home she wouldn't have to deal with these guys, thanks to the double life that she led. But Oliver didn't have that option.

"Hannah!"

She barely had a chance to look at him before he enveloped her in a big hug, squeezing her tightly and causing her to let out an involuntary sigh of happiness. She buried her face in his shirt, and as she breathed in she let out a laugh.

"Are you wearing cologne?" she asked with a smile, taking a step back so she could see his face.

He was blushing slightly. "Um, well...Lilly told me I needed to be more..._impressive_."

"Ah, that explains it," Miley laughed. "But you _do_ realize we're only going to a concert?"

"Not just any concert!" Oliver corrected her. "My first concert _backstage_!" He sounded so excited that she almost expected him to start bouncing up and down.

"What about when you made it up to the windowsill of my dressing room?" she reminded him with a twinkle in her eye. "That was practically backstage."

"That wasn't exactly the easiest or _safest_ way to get in," Oliver frowned. "In fact, I think I still have some scrapes and bruises from when I fell off..."

"Aw, you poor baby," Miley cooed, a teasing smile on her face.

"Poor _baby_?" Oliver repeated, aghast. "I think you mean your knight in shining armor...not afraid of being injured for your love!"

Miley couldn't help bursting into giggles at that ridiculous statement. "Oliver, you're probably about the clumsiest 'knight in shining armor' that ever lived!"

Before he could defend his honor, a paparazzo cut in. "Hannah, you look beautiful today!"

"Thank you!" she called out politely, then turned back to Oliver and muttered, "I wasn't expecting _this_ many of them. It's like they knew I would be here!"

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, uh...it might've...sorta...slipped out earlier..."

"_Oliver!_" she groaned, smacking him on the arm gently. "Rule #1 of talking to the media: _don't_."

"You should've told Marc that an hour ago."

"Oh great! What'd _he_ tell them?"

"I don't know...just something about what it's like to have his older brother dating Hannah Montana."

Miley pursed her lips. "I guess that's not too bad...just make sure you guys stay away from them for now on."

"When my mom was here she kept them under control with her man voice, but now she's getting her hair done with a friend," Oliver explained apologetically.

"Oh, I don't blame her. I mean, if I was her I know _I_ wouldn't want to deal with these guys once '_Hannah Montana_' got here."

"Well, at least they're still following the 10-foot thing," Oliver mused.

"What?"

"My mom threatened to arrest any of them if they came within 10 feet of our front door. Pulled out her handcuffs and everything."

"That's awesome!" Miley laughed. Glancing down at her watch, she added, "Anyways, I think we should go now if we want to pick up Lilly on time."

"Fine by me," he grinned.

Oliver slipped his arm around Miley's waist and began leading her to the car, gripping her tightly and protectively when any of the press got too close for comfort. He had his free hand on the door when one of them called out, "Wait!"

Miley glanced over and rolled her eyes. "That's Paulie the paparazzo," she whispered, her breath tickling Oliver's ear. "He's one of the sleaziest—"

"How about a kiss for the camera, eh?"

Her eyes widened and she felt her face flush. Not knowing what to do, she turned to Oliver—only to realize he was now gazing at her imploringly. She felt sure that boy would kiss her at any chance he got, which was why she'd set up the plan with Lilly. But Lilly wasn't there at that moment.

"Um...we _really_ have to go!" Miley laughed nervously.

"A quick one then!" a reporter jumped in.

"I really don't think—"

"Come on, a 2-second one!"

Miley was beginning to feel trapped, and knowing how persistent these people could be, she didn't think she could hold out much longer.

"Uh...I guess that would be...OK..." she said weakly. With a gulp, she looked back at Oliver (whose face was just about bursting with excitement)...and hesitated. Then finally she leaned in slowly, but instead of kissing him full on, her lips brushed against his cheek softly.

The gesture may have seemed trivial, but Oliver felt his heart leap into his throat and stay there until Miley decided to pull away again, taking her time to do so. As she did and their eyes locked together, she suddenly felt a strange connection between them that hadn't seemed to be there before.

But alas, that wasn't good enough for Paulie.

"Come on! He might as well be your brother!" the freelance photographer complained, obliviously ruining the moment between the two. He held up his camera again. "Give me something juicy for the magazines!" Several others voiced their agreement to this.

"J—_juicy_?" Miley repeated, feeling quite startled and beginning to wish even stronger that she had picked Lilly up first.

"Listen girly, I got kids to feed!"

"Well then maybe, I don't know...try getting a decent job!" Miley yelled back indignantly, suddenly feeling very fed up with this guy. She turned towards Oliver again and tugged on his shirt impatiently. "Come on, let's just go. We don't have to listen to them."

When he didn't acknowledge her, she tugged at him a second time. But to her surprise, instead of agreeing to leave, Oliver wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her in closer. Confusion flashed across her eyes for a moment, and then they grew wide as she realized what was happening.

He was going to kiss her.

A chill went through her just at the thought. He was going to kiss her, and Lilly wasn't there to stop him.

She should probably step back, push him away gently, or at the very least speak up. It's not like he would _force_ her to kiss him if she really didn't want to. But try as she might, she couldn't do anything but close her eyes and whisper his name in protest.

"Oliver..."

It didn't come out at all like she intended. It was pitiful, to say the least, but her problem lied in the whiny undertone to it—one that instantly sent Oliver back to that morning.

Hannah sounded just like Miley had, he realized, or at least how he'd _thought_ she'd sounded—due to his drowsiness and all. But regardless of whether or not Miley's voice had been his imagination when he was half-awake, _Hannah's_ whiny, pleading voice was quite real. And it just made him want to kiss her all the more. So with a small smile, Oliver leaned in farther until their lips were pressed together.

Miley went into shock the instant it happened. She couldn't think, speak or move a muscle. All she knew was that Oliver—her dorky, obsessive best friend—was kissing her...and it felt _wonderful_.

But it _shouldn't_ feel that way! This was _Oliver_, for crying out loud! She should be repulsed by this, or at least not feel anything at all. And yet she _did_ feel something, something strange and amazing and—

And it lasted for what felt like two seconds. Suddenly, while her mind was still trying to process these new feelings, Oliver was pulling away...and oh, Miley knew why. After all, it wasn't like he could read minds, and the initial moment of shock had rendered her incapable of kissing him back.

"Sorry," he mumbled, studying the ground as if it were the most interesting thing in the world and feeling like a complete idiot at the same time. That was twice—_twice!_—he thought someone wanted to kiss him and then had been proven wrong!

"Oliver," Hannah said quietly.

"Let's just go," he snapped back, a little more harshly then he meant to and instantly feeling bad about it. After all, this was _Hannah Montana_ he was talking to—the most perfect creature on earth, not to mention the love of his life—and he had no excuse to speak to her like that.

As he was about to apologize for a second time, Miley's arm suddenly shot out and she grabbed at his shirt. Before he even knew what was happening, he felt himself being yanked towards her and their lips came crashing together again.

He couldn't believe it was really happening. Hannah Montana was kissing _him_, Oliver Oken, out of her own free will...and he wasn't dreaming!

Er...he wasn't dreaming, right? No, that was impossible. A million times he'd dreamed this and yet none of those dreams could come close to how wonderful it felt right now. Still, he kept his eyes shut tight just in case, not wanting to open them and find out none of this was real.

Miley could feel her heart beating rapidly as Oliver's arms wrapped around her, pulling her so tightly against him that only the hand still clutching his shirt was separating them. She was going against all of her better judgment and yet she didn't care, didn't think or try reason with herself anymore. All she knew was that she wanted this moment to last forever.

But suddenly a flash of light went off in their faces, so bright that it felt blinding even with their eyes shut. Miley yanked away from Oliver and the hand on his shirt flew to her face, shielding her eyes as she opened them to try and see what was going on.

"Now that's what I call flawless," the infamous Paulie was saying with a triumphant grin.

"You!" Oliver spat, scowling furiously and pointing an accusing finger at the man. "Why, I oughtta—"

"Hey, kid, I'm just doin' my job!" Paulie reminded him. "If you're that angry maybe you should've waited until you got _inside_ the limo."

"Hannah, was that your first kiss?" a reporter called out. Of course, that egged on a million other voices, all yelling similar questions.

"Let's go, Oliver," Miley sighed, tugging on his shirt once more. This time he listened, opening the car door for her and climbing in after, still scowling about the little interruption that had taken place.

"I should've killed that guy," he muttered as the limousine pulled away from his house.

Miley giggled and his face softened. "Well if you're that angry about it then I guess I didn't do so badly after all."

"Are you kidding?!" Oliver burst out, then quickly lowered his voice at her raised eyebrows. "That was..._amazing_," he breathed softly.

Miley's cheeks heated up under his gaze, and she glanced away. "Well...uh...then I guess it's nice to know I was better than the dog," she joked.

"Trust me, there's _no_ comparison there," Oliver laughed. His eyes turned thoughtful and he added, "Especially since the dog's kiss was mostly tongue..."

"Oh, ew!" Miley exclaimed, cringing. "And you thought that was _me_!"

Oliver frowned. "Hey, that's not fair! You could've just _told_ me you were dating someone else," he huffed.

"Aww, does Ollie want a big slobbery wet kiss from Hannah Montana?" she cooed, sticking her tongue out him playfully and laughing.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Quit teasing."

"Then you do!" she squealed hysterically.

He pursed his lips and looked away. "Well...maybe..."

"_Oliver_!" Miley gasped, erupting into giggles immediately after.

"HEY GUYS!"

Miley and Oliver jumped in surprise as Lilly Truscott came bounding into the limo.

"_Lilly_!" Oliver groaned.

"Don't 'Lilly' me!" she scolded him, snapping her seat belt in place. "You're the one who was 10 minutes late!"

"Oh man, I'm sorry," Miley put in. "The press at his house were crazy."

"Oh that's OK Hannah!" Lilly replied cheerily. "I'm just so happy you let me come with you!"

Miley gave her an approving smile. "Well, you _are_ Oliver's friend and besides that I just _love_ my fans."

"Oliver, are you wearing lip gloss?!" Lilly suddenly burst out.

Miley's eyes widened and she turned towards him to see what in the world Lilly was talking about.

"Huh?" Oliver was asking in confusion. Looking thoughtful, he ran his tongue over his bottom lip and then, after a few seconds, his face broke out in a grin. "Oh yeah, I am. And it's _Hannah's_ favorite flavor."

Miley blushed as he looked at her suggestively, but Lilly still didn't understand.

"That is _not_ what I meant by impressive, Oliver!" she exclaimed in disgust. "Besides, you didn't even put it on right!"

"Uh, here, I'll get it," Miley offered, reaching out to wipe the glossy substance off Oliver's mouth. Her fingers unintentionally lingered on his lips a little too long and she felt herself blushing again.

"Ew, don't you have a napkin?" Lilly asked her. "You don't know where those lips have been!"

Oliver and Miley looked at each other and burst out laughing, and Lilly rolled her eyes at them both.

"You guys are weird," she proclaimed in exasperation. Moving along over to the mini fridge for a drink, she added, "Hey, either of you want a soda?"

"I do!" Oliver immediately agreed. She tossed him a bottle of Coke and then turned to Miley.

"No thanks, I don't want to mess up my lip gloss."

Instantly she regretted saying it as she saw Lilly studying her closely.

"Wait a minute...it's already messed up!" she burst out in surprise.

"What?" Miley's eyes grew frightened and her voice faltered. "N—no it's not!" she stuttered.

"Yes it is," Lilly insisted. Suddenly her eyes went wide in realization. "Oh my GOSH, you guys were making out!"

* * *

_**A/N: **Oh my goodness that was longer than I intended! Oh and in case you were wondering, the title was taken from a line in Taylor Swift's song "Fearless." Her new CD is AMAZING! Anyways I hope you liked the chapter...I wasn't sure if it was a little too rushed or not, so please review and let me know what you think! And if I get as many reviews as last time you will all just make my day! :D_


	9. What a Pop Star Wants

_**A/N: **Yeah, so it's been foreverrr. I'm really sorry. :(  
_

_Honestly,__ I get barely any time on the computer anymore, and I struggle to balance that time between my YouTube vids and this fic. And since I usually get wayyy more comments on YT than reviews on here, can you really__ blame__ me for choosing it over FF most of the time? :P_

_Plus, right now I really hate Disney with my lifee... And it's hard to keep this fic fluffy, like how I originally meant for it to be. But I'll try.  
_

_Anyways, since it's been a while you may need to re-read the last chapter, because this one pretty much picks up where it left off. Also, please forgive any OOC-ness...I sort of hate Lilly for no good reason now too so her character may be a bit off sometimes._

_That's enough of my ranting for now. :P_

_

* * *

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana.

* * *

**_I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't_**

**Chapter 9: What a Pop Star Wants  
**

* * *

"No we weren't!" Miley burst out, eyes frantic.

"Oh please!" Lilly rolled her eyes. "Your lip gloss was all over his face practically!"

Miley desperately tried to think up an excuse, but none came to mind. Finally she protested lamely, "N—no it wasn't!"

Lilly didn't seem to hear the comeback; the wheels in her head were still turning. "No wonder you took so long picking me up!" she suddenly gasped.

"I already told you that—" Miley began.

"And freaked out when I barged in on you!" It was obvious that Lilly wasn't even_ trying_ to pay attention to her friend's rebuttals anymore.

"Oliver, would you please _tell her_?" Miley finally exclaimed in frustration.

Lilly didn't know what was more unbelievable: the fact that Miley was still trying to cover up her kiss with Oliver when she knew Lilly had seen the proof with her own eyes, or the fact that she was counting on _Oliver_ to change Lilly's mind. After all, no one would be more proud of them making out than Oliver.

"Oh yes, Oliver, _do_ tell," Lilly prodded him, trying to keep a straight face.

Both girls turned to him, waiting expectantly.

"Well, Lilly, I think what Hannah is trying to say is that there _is_ a difference between kissing and making out," he explained after a short pause.

Miley's eyes bugged out. "What the—?!" she began in bewilderment, trying to comprehend how he could've misunderstood her request. Was he really _that_ much of a donut?

Lilly couldn't help but laugh as she surveyed the situation.

"_Oliver_!" Miley finally cried out in annoyance, elbowing him harshly in the side.

"Ow, ow, ow!" he whined, his hand flying to the spot that now stung. "What was that for?"

"I meant tell her we didn't do _either_!" Miley hissed in his ear.

Although her tone was cold, feeling her breath on his skin still made him grow hot. Somehow, his first rational thought was that she was even more attractive when she was angry and abusive...

"But we did—," Oliver began to protest out of pure stupidity, only to have his sentence cut short with another, "_Oww_!"

He turned to dose Miley with a pathetic puppy dog pout. "She'll read all about it tomorrow!" he reminded her with a whine.

"You guys made out in front of the press?!" Lilly shrieked.

"We _kissed_ in front of the press," Oliver corrected her in annoyance.

Lilly ignored him. "I mean, in the limo I can understand...but the _press_?! I suppose you felt like broadcasting your love to the whole world!"

"Lilly, please! I—I didn't _plan_ it—it just happened!" Miley stuttered, her face flushed.

"Yeah, _Lilly_! And what's wrong with us broadcasting our love to the world if we _did_ plan it that way?" Oliver threw in.

"What's wrong is that I could be at the beach with Jacks—!" She stopped mid-sentence.

"_Jackson_?" Miley finished, an eyebrow raised.

"Jackson _Stewart_?" Oliver added in disbelief.

"Um—no! Jack—_Song_! Like Brenda Song! He's from our school. You wouldn't know him, Hannah." The words all came out in one breath, Lilly shaking her head furiously.

"I don't think _I_ know him," Oliver said suspiciously.

Miley rolled her eyes. "I don't think _anyone_ does."

"Anyways, Lilly, if you wanted to go to the beach with Jack _Song_, then why did you ask me to ask Hannah to come with us to her concert?" Oliver questioned her.

"Because he asked me after I asked you and I already promised Miley!" Lilly explained, still speaking in a rush.

"Wait—_what_?"

Miley shot dagger eyes at Lilly but she kept talking anyways.

"_Miley_ wanted me to make sure you didn't kiss _Hannah_," Lilly told him, smiling smugly at the girl in question.

It took him a second to process this, and then he broke out in a laugh. "_Why_?"

"Because she's _jealous_!" Lilly sang happily. "But since you and Hannah already made out—"

"_Kissed_!" Oliver cut in.

"—then I can't do anything about her crushed heart and I should've gone with Jackson—I mean, Jack Song," Lilly finished.

"That's crazy. Miley's happy for Hannah and me," Oliver stated firmly.

"Yeah!" Miley agreed hotly, a bit miffed that Lilly had suddenly decided to tell Oliver the Plan without her permission.

"You know what?" Oliver went on. "Next time Hannah and I go somewhere, I'm inviting _Miley_ and not _you_."

"_What?!_" Miley burst out in horror, her eyes growing wide and frantic. She gripped his arm tightly, uttering a pleading, "_No_."

He eyed her strangely. "Why?" Then, lowering his voice so that is was barely audible, he added, "She's not annoying like Lilly, I promise."

Miley's face went blank for a second. Then, acting quickly, she laughed. "But _Miley_ is jealous of our _relationship_. Duh."

"But you just said—" Oliver stopped abruptly and shut his mouth, shaking his head in bewilderment. "I'll never understand you girls," he muttered.

* * *

As the three arrived at the concert stadium and were passed through security to the backstage area, the first thing that caught Oliver's eye was, of course, the huge buffet table. It had to be at least six feet long, and piled with more food then he had ever seen in his life. (OK, so maybe that was an overstatement, but not by much.)

"Wow," he breathed, squeezing Miley's arm tightly. "Is that _free food_?!"

"No duh, Sherlock," Lilly answered in exasperation.

Oliver turned to Miley with wide eyes, having a hard time believing it was all _real_. This seemed too much like a dream—a beautiful, beautiful dream.

Miley giggled and pushed him forward. "Just go have some. If you don't, then we both know it's the only thing you'll be able to think about for the rest of the night." She poked him in the side playfully. "And _I_ want to be the only thing that occupies your thoughts."

Oliver gazed at her adoringly. "Don't worry—I can't stop thinking about you even when I _try_. Like, the other night Miley made me promise not to talk about y—"

Suddenly he stopped and his eyes widened, his face quickly overcome with guilt as if for already saying too much.

"It's OK, Oliver," Miley said softly. "Just go eat now."

He nodded obediently, but instead of running over excitedly like he had originally planned, he walked slowly, his hands in his pockets and looking thoughtful.

"What do you think that was about? Why didn't he finish?" Miley asked Lilly when Oliver was out of earshot.

"I think he doesn't want you—Hannah—to think Miley is jealous," Lilly mused, "but that he's starting to consider the possibility himself."

"Oh..." Miley stared after him and mulled Lilly's idea over in her mind. It did make sense.

"Admit it."

"Huh?" Miley turned to look blankly at the blonde who had just spoken.

"You _are_ jealous. You want him to love Miley instead of Hannah. But he won't...not as long as you keep he secret."

She wasn't annoyed or upset; she was speaking like a true friend who wanted to help. But Miley wasn't ready to listen yet.

She set her jaw stubbornly and looked away. "I don't want to talk about it right now, Lilly."

"Fine. Just let me know when you do," Lilly replied kindly. There were a few moments of silence before she added, "It looks like your dad wants to talk to you."

Miley turned and spied her father in the far corner that Lilly was motioning towards. He was staying as far away from Oliver as possible, which they both had agreed was best. With his only disguise being a false mustache and a hat, Miley had been a little afraid that Oliver might recognize him, and it was a short jump to Miley from there.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's wondering why we're late," she sighed. "I probably gotta do sound check right away too. Will you keep an eye on Oliver for me?"

"What, now I'm his babysitter too?" Lilly jokingly complained.

"Come on, Lilly, there's no way I'll be able to look after him while I'm singing!"

* * *

"You were _amazing_!" Oliver exclaimed enthusiastically when Miley exited the stage a couple hours later. "I can't _believe_ you dedicated that song to me!" He wrapped her in his arms and squeezed her as tightly as he could.

Miley was giggling when he finally let go. "What _I_ can't believe is that you watched the whole concert when you've seen me perform a million times! Wouldn't you rather go chase celebrities with Lilly?" she teased him.

"Are you kidding?" he scoffed. "They're nothing compared to you. Besides..." His voice grew soft. "I could watch you all day and never get tired of it."

Miley's cheeks flushed. "Stop it," she said with a smile, speaking more to her rapidly beating heart than to the boy beside her.

"What, so I'm not allowed to flatter you?" he asked, a huge grin on his face.

"Well, maybe just a little..."

Suddenly she frowned and placed one hand on the back of her neck, turning it slowly back and forth and grimacing.

"You look tense," Oliver observed.

She nodded. "Yeah, performing for a couple hours straight can do that," she joked lightly, still frowning.

"Wow," he said in amazement. "You give so much."

She smirked. "Glad to know someone appreciates it." She dropped her hand with a sigh and shrugged.

"Well, here, let me..." He stepped around behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, sending her skin hot at his touch.

She realized what he was doing and immediately protested. "No, Oliver, you don't have to—_ohh_." She let out a sigh of relief as he began massaging her neck, his movements somehow...rhythmic...

Her heart rate increased again, and soon felt like it was beating out of control. She bit her lip, hoping he couldn't hear its pounding.

"My gosh—Oliver...that feels—so good," she breathed.

"Well it's fun," he said softly. "We should do this after every concert."

"Mmhmm...," she mumbled.

Drawing in a deep breath, Miley tried to fight off the sudden urge to spin around, shove Oliver up against a wall and kiss him passionately. It didn't help one bit that he would welcome such an action, but the presence of everyone else in the room kept her desires under control for the time being.

_Everyone else in the room._

Suddenly it felt like a million pairs of eyes were on them, watching their every move—

And Oliver—he just kept on with what he was doing in total obliviousness.

"Oliver!" she gasped.

"What?" he asked in surprise.

"Um—have you seen my dressing room?" she blurted out, pulling away from his grip on her and turning around so she could see his face.

"From the window," he joked. "But I never got a _real_ tour."

"Then would you like me to show you around?"

"Let's see...do birds fly?"

"Um, yes?"

"Then yes," Oliver grinned.

"Oh, come on." Miley giggled and led him over by the hand. She opened the door with a flourish and flipped on the lights. "Ta-_da_!"

Oliver stepped inside and for a moment just stood there soaking everything in. "Wow. I just can't believe it—I never thought I'd actually be here. With you."

"What do you think? Better than hanging from the windowsill?" she asked with a grin.

"_Much_ better," he decided. "I'm backstage, in your dressing room, and I don't have to worry about someone throwing me out. This is amazing!"

Oliver made a rush for the rack of clothes set out and started flipping through the hangers. "You've never worn these before," he noted. "Are they for your next concert?"

She made sure to shut the door behind her before she followed him over. "You're going through my clothes?" Miley asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah," he mumbled distractedly as something on the rack caught his eye. "Ooh, I like that."

She grabbed the item away from him and held it up. "It's a _miniskirt_," she pointed out disapprovingly.

"And I'm a guy," he smirked. "Do the math."

Miley's eyes narrowed at him. "Not appropriate, Oliver. I should smack you."

"Yes, you should..." In one swift movement he had his arms wrapped around her waist and his mouth right by her ear. "But you won't," he crooned. "Will you?"

A shiver went down Miley's spine. "No," she whispered.

Oliver let go of her with a laugh. "I'm just kidding. You can smack me if you want to." He grinned.

But she definitely didn't want to. She hadn't wanted him to let go of her either—heck, she never wanted him to let go anymore. She loved it in his arms.

So what _did_ she want?

She wanted him to love Hannah...but she wanted him to love Miley _more_ than Hannah. And she wanted to love him back, without feeling guilty for it because he was her best friend.

Miley gazed straight into those deep brown eyes of his with a longing that tore at her heart.

_I want _you_, Oliver_, she thought wistfully. _I want you so bad it hurts.  
_

Suddenly he started to tremble.

"Are you OK?" Miley asked in concern, placing a hand on his shoulder gently.

"I—I want you too," he choked out. "I've _always_ wanted you."

Her eyes widened. She had said that _out loud_?

She tried to form an answer, but the words wouldn't come out. OK, so when she _wanted_ to speak she couldn't, but when she _didn't_ want to speak she did without even realizing it. Figured.

"It's OK, you don't have to say anything," Oliver told her softly. Maybe he just knew how to read minds?

Then his arms slipped around her again, and she gripped him tightly as he leaned his face into hers.

Neither of them heard the door open, but they both heard the nasally voice that called out immediately afterward.

"_Hannah!_"

Miley's eyes widened in horror. Frantically, she placed her hands on Oliver's chest and shoved him—hard. He toppled over onto the metal clothing rack and brought it down with him, just as Traci van Horne stepped into view.

"Um—did I interrupt something?"

* * *

_**A/N:** Yeah, it sorta sucks. But I'm in a sucky mood. I was actually gonna stop it later but it was getting kinda long. Soo, review...if you still want me to continue, that is. xP_


	10. Forever and Always

_**A/N:** Well I guess 12 reviews is good... I mean, it's still kinda sad when there are 44 alerts, but I was expecting less so you guys did a pretty good job. And that's why I'm updating so soon after. That, and the fact that writing this takes me out of depression mode. ;]_

_Also, I'm going to try making the chapters longer so the number of chapters goes down...hopefully none of you mind. x]  
_

_

* * *

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana.

* * *

**_I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't_**

**Chapter 10: Forever and Always  
**

* * *

"Traci!" Miley exclaimed, plastering a smile on her face and trying to sound enthusiastic. "N—no, you didn't interrupt anything! Right, Oliver?"

"_Ow_," he moaned from the ground.

"Oliver?" Traci gasped. "You mean your _boyfriend_? Oh, Hannah, how cute! But...why is he on the floor?" She peered down at him with her nose wrinkled.

"Um—he was just looking for—my earring! But he's really clumsy so he accidentally knocked over the clothing rack," Miley explained quickly, waving it off with a laugh.

"_Right_," Traci replied in a voice that said she didn't fully believe that. "So...aren't you going to help him up?"

"Oh—yeah!" Miley blushed and bent down next to Oliver. It was the first time she had gotten a good look at him since Traci had startled her, and, seeing him sprawled out all pathetically like that, she immediately felt bad for pushing him over in the first place. "Aw, Oliver, are you OK?" she asked, stroking his hair gently.

"No," he pouted, although he already looked happier now that she was next to him. "I think I need a kiss to feel better."

Miley smiled and rolled her eyes. "Of course you do. Now, where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere," he whined. "But you should start with my lips."

Traci started laughing at them and Miley groaned and smacked him on the shoulder.

"Hey! I'm in enough pain already!" he complained.

"Oliver, if you're feeling good enough to crack jokes then I think you're fine," she answered dryly.

"I wasn't joking!" he protested.

"Get up," Miley said in exasperation. Grabbing both of his arms, she helped yanked him to his feet and then smoothed out the front of his shirt for him. "There, good as new," she declared.

"Wow, he is even _cuter_ standing up! You _do_ know how to pick them, Hannah." Traci giggled and gave Oliver a big, full-toothed smile. Miley just eyed her "friend" suspiciously in return.

"Yeah, he's really something." Miley made a show of grabbing onto him and giggling into his ear. Oliver's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he a grin quickly spread across his face and he returned her embrace gladly.

"You two should _totally_ come to my party this weekend," Traci went on excitedly. "I mean, I know you're already in those trashy tabloids—that I do _not_ read, by the way—but my party would be the perfect place to officially come public with your relationship!"

Miley glanced at Oliver hesitantly. Honestly, she had been hoping for some alone time, but now it was looking like that would have to wait. Traci didn't usually like to take no for an answer.

"Um...we'll have to think about it," Miley finally answered.

"Well I'll take that as a _yes_!" Traci exclaimed. "When you're done 'thinking' about it, give me a call and we'll go over all the little details!"

"OK," Miley smiled weakly.

"Well I know it's early, but I have to run," Traci concluded with a frown. "I'll see you soon..._both _of you."

She eyed Oliver once more and gave him another flirty smile. Miley bristled.

"_Ciao_!"

"_Ciao_," Miley echoed as Traci began walking off, trying to force a smile despite her clenched teeth.

"Should I be scared?" Oliver whispered in her ear jokingly when Traci was out of the room.

"She was totally flirting with you!" Miley burst out.

His eyebrows raised. "Really? I didn't notice."

"How could you not notice, Oliver?" Miley protested angrily. "Traci is really pretty!"

"Like I said, I—"

"She knows you're _mine_ and she was still trying to hit on you. That is so _wrong_!"

Oliver's lips slowly pulled into a smirk.

"What?" Miley demanded.

"Oh, nothing...I've just never heard you get so _possessive_ of me," he teased her.

"Oh, right," Miley said sheepishly, feeling a blush starting. "Sorry."

"Hey"—he reached out and stroked her cheek softly—"I never said I didn't like it."

* * *

"Traci is so rude," Lilly complained on the ride home. The two had had a very unpleasant run-in as Lilly was approaching Hannah's dressing room and Traci was leaving it. "_Why_ do you hang out with her?"

"Lilly, she was just freaked out by you because you were way too loud and covered in chocolate," Oliver reminded her with a pitying smile. "If I didn't know you, then I would've been too."

"Well neither of _you_ got Hilary Duff's autograph," Lilly snapped, waving it in the air for him to see. "_Or_ one from a guy who's related to Justin Timberlake," she added, digging through her purse to find that.

Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Actually," Miley spoke up, "Traci has met Hilary _and_ Justin before... Hilary's on the same label as me."

Lilly glared at her, and then Oliver glared at Lilly for glaring at Hannah, and then Lilly glared at Oliver for glaring at her for glaring at Hannah. Or something like that.

"But Lilly's right, it doesn't give Traci an excuse to be rude!" Miley broke in quickly, before either of them could start arguing verbally.

"Ha," Lilly declared. She and Oliver stuck their tongues out at each other, and then he turned his attention to Miley.

"So then, why _do_ you hang out with Traci?" he asked sympathetically.

"She's my record producer's daughter," Miley sighed. "I have to stay on good terms with her."

"Mm...too bad _my_ dad isn't your record producer."

Miley glanced at him cautiously. "Why?"

He leaned towards her and ran his fingers down her arm, sending a blaze through it.

"You'd have to do a lot of things to stay on good terms with _me_," Oliver mumbled suggestively.

"Somehow, I don't think I'd mind," she giggled.

"_Ugh_, you _guys_!" Lilly burst out in disgust. "I'm right here!"

Instantly Miley shot up straight and scooted as far away from Oliver as possible, pressing herself against the car door. He turned to glare at Lilly again.

"I hate you."

She held up her hands. "Hey, I'm just asking you to wait 'til I'm out of the car to resume your flirting."

As if on cue, the limo slowed to a standstill.

"Here's your stop," Oliver stated the obvious, smiling at Lilly innocently.

In return, Lilly moved extra slowly to bug him. Then, when she had her hand on the door handle at long last, she stopped and spun around.

"You know, I'm not sure if I should leave you two alone like this—"

"Just get out!" Oliver exclaimed angrily.

She smirked at his annoyance and then finally exited the limousine, shutting the door behind her. Miley let out a sigh of relief when she was gone. Then, after signaling the driver to go, she sidled back up to Oliver's side with a smile.

"So...where were we?" she teased.

"Are you embarrassed of me?" Oliver blurted out.

The question came from nowhere and took Miley off guard.

"No!" she exclaimed. "Wh—why would you even think that?"

"Well, when we're around other people it sort of feels that way," he explained with a sheepish expression. "Almost like, you don't want me to touch you or something...except when Traci was flirting with me."

"Well, _that's_ because most people don't like watching public displays of affection," she reminded him. "But...well...you're also my first real boyfriend, you know."

"What about Mark?" was Oliver's instant rebuttal.

"No, he doesn't count," she answered, trying not to crack up. Oliver eyed her curiously, so she added, "I mean, well...it barely lasted. And there was no chemistry. We never even kissed. In fact, let's just forget Mark ever existed, OK?"

_Because he didn't,_ she added to herself with a smile.

"Oh," Oliver said slowly, "OK."

His voice was calm, but by the look on his face, Miley could tell he was thrilled at this information and trying not to show it. She decided there was nothing wrong with egging it on a little.

"Just for the record," she threw in casually, "I never kissed_ anyone_ before today...before you."

Oliver's mouth dropped open and she thought he might start hyperventilating.

"You mean—me—I—_I_ was your first kiss?" he stuttered, his face lighting up brighter than a Christmas tree.

Miley's face pulled into a grin. "Yep! They don't call you Smoken Oken for nothing," she teased.

"But—you're Hannah Montana!" Oliver burst out.

"_Oliver_, I thought you were past the fan stage," Miley groaned.

"I am!" he insisted. "But—you're _Hannah Montana_!"

"I'm also a normal person!" Miley rebutted.

"Yeah, but you've got thousands of guys who are just _dying_ to kiss you," Oliver pointed out.

"So you automatically assume I would just settle for anyone. Thanks a lot," she said sarcastically.

"No, not anyone—but a movie star like Jake Ryan. Girls always go ga-ga over him. And in an interview I read, he said he would love it if you played his love interest sometime." Oliver's face then pulled into a disgusted scowl.

"You mean that guy on Zombie High?" Miley asked in disbelief. "Oliver, you have no idea how arrogant I've heard he is. Everyone who's ever met him will tell you about it. And anyways, who cares if he wants to kiss me? He's always kissing girls. There wouldn't be anything special about it."

Oliver's face softened. "Really?"

"Really," she answered him with a smile, placing one hand on his knee. "What we have—now _that's_ special," she whispered.

Oliver stared straight into her eyes, and they absolutely mesmerized him.

"I just don't get it," he admitted after a short pause. "Why would you want _me_? Nobody even _looked_ at me before you. And you're _so_ perfect... I don't deserve you."

Miley felt her throat tighten. "No, don't say that," she protested. "I'm _not_ perfect. Perfect people...they don't lie."

His forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I lie, Oliver," she replied, her voice suddenly filled with so much guilt that it scared him. "I lie all the time. I lie...to you," she choked out. "But I don't _want_ to."

His eyes widened in fear. "What are you saying—you don't love me?"

"No!" Miley burst out frantically. "I _do_ love you, Oliver. I'm _in_ love with you."

He drew in a sharp breath. The words even shocked _her_ when she spoke them out loud. But she was. She was in love with Oliver Oken, her best friend. And there was no going back now.

"I'm not lying about that," she promised him. "I'm talking about...who I _am_. You really don't know who I am, Oliver."

What she was saying now was much too cryptic for him to figure out, but he guessed it had to have something to do with her family, or her background.

"I don't care," Oliver declared firmly. "Hannah, I love you so, _so_ much. And as long as you love me too, then I don't care if you lie about anything else. Because I know you have a good reason."

"No, it's _selfish_—"

He placed a finger on her lips to shush her.

"I don't care," he repeated softly. "If you want to tell me, then that's fine. But if you never tell me, then that's fine too. I don't care who you are. I just know that I love you and I want to be with you forever."

She gazed into his brown eyes in wonderment. _Forever_. That was so long. Didn't he realize how much could change in the meantime?

Like if she told him the truth. He would never be in love with Miley, she was sure of that. Otherwise he would've spent the last two years chasing _her_ instead of Hannah Montana. Oliver had always seemed very straightforward when it came to hitting on girls, and he had never once hit on Miley. So, case closed.

But she wanted him too badly now to let him go. So she would _have_ to keep her double identity a secret. It was the only way she could keep _him_.

"I'm yours for however long you want me," Miley whispered.

"Forever," he repeated. "Forever and always."

He cupped her face in his hands and leaned forward—

Just as his phone went off.

"Crap!" Oliver burst out, letting go of her to search his pockets for the cell. "It's like every time I try to kiss you, we get interrupted!"

"Well, think of it this way—now you'll leave wanting more," Miley giggled.

"I _always_ leave wanting more," he grumbled. "This is just—unfair."

She giggled again, as Oliver finally found his phone and groaned when he saw who was calling.

"My mom," he mouthed to Miley before answering it. "Hello?"

There was a pause, and by the look on his face Miley figured he was getting yelled at. Poor thing.

"Well, I think we're almost there... What? I didn't even feel the car stop—" Oliver glanced at Miley helplessly.

She leaned over him to peer out the window, and he couldn't help but notice how _good_ she smelled when she got that close—

"Yep, we're at your house," Miley confirmed, her voice interrupting his thoughts. She then returned to her previous spot all too quickly, in his opinion.

"I'm sorry, Mom, we started talking and—yes, we were just talking, I swear!—anyways, yeah, I'll be right there. Love you too."

Oliver finally hung up and sank back in his seat with a sigh. "Sorry, I have to go..."

He made a move to leave, and she grabbed onto his shirt. "Wait."

"Yes?"

She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him up against the door. "I love you, Oliver."

"I love you too," he mumbled, his eyes fixed on hers in awe. "You and no one else."

His phone rang again and she sighed and let go of him.

"Sorry," he said remorsefully. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded, and he finally left, closing the door behind him.

_You and no one else._

Those words would've thrilled any other girl. But not Miley. And for some reason, those words were the ones that had gotten stuck on repeat—playing over and over in her head and only making her depressed.

If he had loved Miley first, then she could've told him her secret. Then she wouldn't have to _hide_ anything from him. Then he'd love all of her, not just a part of her. And then their relationship would be whole, not just a half of what it could be.

If only.

* * *

When Miley walked through the school hallway the next morning, it was surprisingly empty, instead of bustling with students like it would be on any other normal day. She checked the clock on the wall, but it wasn't much help in explaining things. She was right on time; not too early and not too late. So where was everyone else?

With a shrug, she turned to her locker and spun away the combination. But to her annoyance, it didn't open. Honestly, where _was_ Oliver when she needed him?

Sighing, Miley continued struggling with her stubborn locker when suddenly she felt someone's hands on her shoulders, pushing her forward. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself in the dark stairwell to the school's basement with two arms wrapped around her midsection from behind. Her heart beating out of control, Miley turned her head as much as she could and tried to make out the face of whoever was holding her captive.

"Oliver?" she guessed, whispering although she wasn't sure why. It just seemed appropriate when you were a prisoner trapped in a basement, she thought.

"Yeah," Oliver whispered back, sounding a little out of breath.

She felt her whole body relax immediately at his affirmation. Leaning back against him, her head came to rest on his shoulder and she let out a little sigh of relief. "You had me scared there for a second," she told him softly. "Why are we hiding?"

"Those crazy girls wouldn't leave me alone and now they're chasing me," he explained.

Miley let out a giggle but he shushed her. A second later, there were voices and footsteps right outside the door and she realized he wasn't kidding. She heard one of the girls say his name...and then it sounded like they had moved on to keep searching.

Miley didn't realize she had been holding her breath until she let it out in relief when all was silent again.

"Why were they chasing you?" she asked Oliver.

To her surprise, he gave her a quick squeeze and then released her to pull something out of his backpack.

"You'll never believe this!" he whispered excitedly before handing it to her.

The second Miley saw the magazine cover she thought her heart had stopped. Of course they just _had_ to use the picture where she was clutching his shirt like that...

"Wait, what's 'Holiver'?" Miley motioned to the caption, which read "HOLIVER'S FIRST KISS!"

Oliver just smirked. "Our couple name," he answered proudly.

Great, so they already had a couple name, and _she_ was the last to know. It figured.

And also...that picture was of their second kiss, technically. How very misleading...

"So can you _believe_ it? Hannah Montana kissed _me_! Well, actually I kissed her first, but I thought she wanted me to stop so I did, but then she grabbed me and started kissing me again—sorry, am I babbling?"

"Yes," Miley giggled, quite amused at the state he was in.

"Sorry," Oliver said again. "But, so—can you _believe_ it?" A huge grin stretched across his face.

"Of course I can. No wonder all these girls are trying to get a piece of Smoken Oken," she teased him. "But I had no idea you were such a good kisser, Oliver."

His eyes widened slightly and he blushed. "Well, I don't know about _that_..."

"Of course you are. That's why she looks so desperate to get a hold of you," Miley laughed.

"And she was _totally_ trying to pull my shirt off," he grinned, pointing to the photo.

"_What_?" Miley squealed. "She was not!"

It was the truth—the thought had never even crossed her mind...until now, that was.

"_You_ weren't there," he pointed out, sounding a little offended.

"Yeah, but—she's obviously just pulling you to herself!"

"Oh, I get it." Oliver narrowed his eyes at her. "_You_ just don't think I'm hot enough for Hannah Montana. Well obviously"—he tapped the magazine haughtily—"I am."

"That's not what I meant!" she blurted out. "You're totally hot!"

Miley's mouth immediately dropped open and they both stared at each other with wide eyes.

She had _not_ just...oh, boy.

"I—I mean—to her!" she added quickly. "Because she's your girlfriend! But—but I mean—_I'm_ not attracted to you—not that you're _not_ attractive! I mean—because I'm your...friend..."

Miley's cheeks were burning. Why couldn't she just...keep her mouth _shut_ so she wouldn't say anything else stupid?

"Right..." Oliver was nodding slowly, looking as if he was trying to understand and convince himself of her explanation.

Suddenly the door in front of them swung open and someone shouted, "AHA!"

The burst of blinding light hurt her eyes, and Miley jumped and grabbed onto Oliver without thinking. Hm, it seemed she was doing that a lot now—not thinking.

But he didn't try to push her off. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at the person standing in the doorway and hissed, "_Lilly_!"

Miley glanced up in surprise to find their friend standing there, looking triumphant.

"_Welll_, what's going on here?" Lilly asked with a smirk. "I was just looking for Oliver because all the girls were ticked off that he disappeared...but I didn't expect to find you too, Miley. I thought you were just running late..."

She and Oliver started talking at the same time.

"I was just—"

"We were—"

They both stopped, completely tongue tied. Miley realized she was still holding Oliver and immediately let him go, blushing guiltily.

Lilly raised an eyebrow. "Uh _huh_. Because I see no reason for you to hide out by the basement stairs unless you were doing something that you didn't want anyone else to see...you know, like—"

"I was being chased by crazy fangirls and ran into Miley," Oliver quickly interrupted, not really wanting to hear what Lilly thought they'd been doing. "I knew that if they saw _her_, then they would know _I_ was close by, so I had to drag her in here too."

"And then we were just looking at his magazine together," Miley added. "He, uh—he kissed Hannah Montana."

"I know, I was there," Lilly replied.

"You were not," Oliver rebutted.

"Practically!"

"Um, hey Oliver, I just remembered I needed you for something," Miley interrupted.

He turned to her. "What?"

"My locker is stuck."

"_Oh_, and you needed the Locker Man's help." He patted her shoulder and smiled knowingly. "I'll get right on it, Miles."

"Oh hey, can I see that magazine?" Lilly asked as he was about to return it to his backpack.

Oliver tossed it to her. "Yeah, just don't damage it because I'm gonna frame it later," he instructed seriously.

Lilly burst out laughing. "Whatever you say."

He simply glared at her before sauntering out the door.

"_Whoa_, Miley, _you_ kissed _him_?" Lilly exclaimed when she got a good look at the photo.

"He kissed me first!" she blurted out defensively.

"Yeah, and _someone_ wanted _mo-ore_," Lilly teased her in a singsong voice.

"Well, _excuse_ me for trying to make it believable," Miley huffed.

"Uh-_huh_. I'm _sure_ that's all you were doing." Lilly shoved the magazine in her face. "You _cannot_ seriously look at this and tell me you don't like Oliver."

Miley's stared at it, her lips tightened. "I do not like Oliver."

"Come _on_," Lilly groaned. "You totally—"

"I love him."

* * *

"Are you gonna text all day?" Lilly grumbled, snatching Oliver's phone right out of his hands.

"Hey! If I don't reply, then Hannah's going to get the wrong impression!" he cried out, trying desperately to snatch it back.

Lilly turned and glared at Miley, who quickly stuck her cell in her pocket and then smiled up innocently at her friend.

"Lilly! Give it _back_!" Oliver kept on.

She rolled her eyes. "Gosh, Oliver, it's one text. And you're gonna see her tonight. Can't you give Miley and me, like, _two_ seconds of your life?"

"It's not just any text, it's a _flirty_ text. And I _have_ to reply or—"

"Flirty?" Lilly interrupted with a laugh. "Did you hear that, Miley?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Yes...but I really don't think it's any of our business..."

"Of course it is."

"No, it's not!" Oliver protested.

Lilly ignored him and started reading. "'Hey, Oliver, if I had a garden—'"

"_Lilly_!" Miley shrieked.

"—I'd put your two lips and my two lips together,'" she finished with another laugh. "_Aw_. Now isn't that cute?"

Miley's cheeks were bright red, and she buried her face in her hands.

"You're right, Oliver, you _do_ need to reply to this," Lilly smirked, placing the phone back in his hand.

He glared at her. "You are _so_ evil."

"Uh huh. Whatever."

After holding his glare for a few more seconds, he jumped right back into texting with an excited smile. Soon Miley felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, and she tried to take it out inconspicuously, holding it under the lunch table to read.

"You SO need to get that garden."

A giggle escaped her lips and she glanced back up to see both of her friends staring at her.

"Um...I just thought of something funny, that's all!" she exclaimed, quickly digging back into the food on her tray. She was reaching for her drink when Oliver decided he should say something completely out of the blue.

"My gosh, Miley—your lips are so _perfect_."

* * *

_**A/N: **Bwahaha, Oliver. xD Anyways, review and lemme know what you thought! How about the new chapter length? Do you like it better or worse?  
_


	11. It's My Party & I'll Fight if I Want To

_**A/N: **I really did plan on updating sooner, but I got a little bit of writer's block on the Lilly/Jackson scene. I suck at their characters. xD Plus, school, you know. xP_

_Also, someone brought to my attention that a line I wrote in the last chapter sounded like something from Twilight, lol. I can assure you it wasn't on purpose. I guess those books were just more of an influence on me than I thought. xD_

_Soo, enjoy. And please review. ^^  
_

_

* * *

_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hannah Montana.

* * *

**_I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't_**

**Chapter 11: It's My Party and I'll Fight if I Want To  
**

* * *

Miley's eyes grew _huge_, and all of a sudden she was choking on her soda—so hard, in fact, that it scared Oliver...and now, instead of just being completely mortified for accidentally voicing his thoughts like that—now he was also feeling guilty to the _n_th degree. Because now his best friend was sitting across from him—struggling to _breathe_—and it was all due to one stupid little comment that had come from _his_ mouth.

Lilly was already at her side, patting her on the back and trying to help her out. But all Oliver could do was continue to sit there, babbling apologies and explanations like an idiot and all the while wanting to crawl up and die for causing Miley any discomfort whatsoever.

"I'm sorry! I'm so, _so_ sorry! I—I totally didn't mean to say that _out loud_! I didn't even mean to _think_ it! It's just—your lips—they look _exactly_ like Hannah's, and of course hers are perfect, so—"

"Oliver!" Lilly barked. "Miley is freaking _choking_ here and you're going on about your girlfriend's _lips_? Are you _kidding_ me?"

He gritted his teeth. "I was _trying_ to apologize. You think I don't _care_ that Miley is choking?"

"Well you sure aren't helping!" was her only response.

_Ugh_. That girl _so _needed a smack in the face.

By this point, Miley's coughing had mostly calmed down.

"You think you're gonna be OK?" Lilly asked her gently.

Miley nodded and took a slow sip of her drink.

"I—I'm really sorry, Miles!" Oliver apologized again. "I didn't mean it! I mean—I didn't mean it like you thought I meant it... What I'm trying to say is—I didn't mean I wanted to kiss you or anything—I just—randomly noticed your lips look like Hannah's and I accidentally said they were perfect out loud—"

"She gets it," Lilly snapped. "And by the way—staring at Miley's lips to begin with is _so_ not creepy."

"I _really_ didn't mean for you to start choking," he went on, ignoring Lilly and her sarcasm. "Don't scare me like that again."

"_She_ scared _you_?" Lilly asked incredulously.

"It's OK, Oliver," Miley said, her voice a little hoarse. "Besides, now we've both said something awkward to each other without thinking today," she added jokingly.

"Yeah, but when you called me hot it's not like I started choking."

"_What_?" Lilly squealed excitedly.

"Oops..." He clamped a hand over his mouth, looking sheepishly at Miley.

She was giving him her best death glare. "Thanks a lot."

* * *

Miley felt like bouncing with excitement when her limo pulled into Oliver's driveway that evening. She had been trying to hold herself back all day, and she had discovered that it wasn't exactly a piece of cake. In fact, switching between Hannah and Miley had _never_ been quite so difficult for her before. She kept wanting to say and do things as Miley that would breach the line of friendship between her and Oliver, and it was just frustrating.

Oliver just about ran to the vehicle, a huge smile on his face. She loved putting it there, too. If only _Miley_ could light up his face like that...

Miley shoved all negative thoughts aside as Oliver swung open the door and jumped in. She was Hannah right now, and Hannah had absolutely no reason to feel wistful, because she _had_ the guy.

But before Miley even had a chance to greet him, Oliver had his arms around her and was pressing her back against the leather seat. His kiss was soft and gentle, and just about made her melt. _This_ was what she had been waiting for all day. And it was _so_ worth the wait.

Her arms made their way up around his neck, and she kissed him back a bit more forcefully. It went on for a few moments, until the need for oxygen became dominant and Miley reluctantly pulled away.

"Well, you sure don't waste any time," she commented breathlessly.

"Hey, I've been waiting for that _all day_," he replied in a slightly whiny voice.

She giggled at how similarly that sentence matched her own thoughts. "Me too," she whispered sheepishly.

"Besides, I wasn't going to risk getting interrupted again. That _always_ happens when we talk first," he groaned.

"Hey, that only happened _twice_," Miley corrected him with a laugh.

"And it was two times too many," Oliver persisted.

She smirked. "So am I allowed to put my lip gloss on now? Because I'm not going to keep reapplying it."

"But what if I feel like kissing you spontaneously?" he protested.

She laughed. "Well then you'll just have to wait until _after_ the party."

"That's not fair," he pouted.

"Aw, don't give me that face," she cooed, winding one hand up into his hair.

He leaned back against the seat with a satisfied sigh.

"Oh, does Ollie like it when girls play with his hair?" Miley teased with a giggle.

"I like it when _you_ do," he grinned, casually placing one hand on her thigh. But as soon as he touched her, his eyes widened a little and he glanced down in surprise.

"What?"

"You're wearing the _skirt_?" he asked incredulously.

She followed his gaze, then shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, would you look at that."

"But...you threatened to slap me when I wanted you to wear it!"

"That's because you were being perverted," she stated simply.

Oliver's mouth dropped open. "I was not!"

She just raised an eyebrow.

"Even if I _was_...that doesn't explain _why_ you're wearing it now...," he pointed out.

"_Well_..." She hesitated, trying to think up a good answer. "There's no reason I can't look _attractive,_ is there?"

Oliver just burst out laughing. "Are you kidding? You could wear _anything_ and look attractive."

"Really?" Miley asked softly.

"Of _course_," he replied, his voice completely serious. "I thought you knew that."

"Aw, you're _so_ sweet, Oliver," she smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "And by the way...where'd you get that jacket?" she added, fingering the collar of his white suit gently.

He frowned. "Please tell me it's not that bad."

"Are you _kidding_?" she gasped. "It looks absolutely _gorgeous _on you!"

He grinned. "Wow, guess my mom has better taste than I thought."

Miley just burst out laughing.

"Oh, and that skirt _is_ gorgeous on you," he added. "I'm really glad you wore it."

His gaze lingered just a little too long, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Uh _huh_. I bet you are."

He didn't seem to notice she had said anything, let alone her tone of voice. All he could think about was the fact that, because she was sitting down, her skirt came up a little higher—making it seem even more _mini_ than he remembered.

"_Oliver_."

Finally he tore his eyes away and glanced up at her face. "What?"

"My eyes are up here," she stated.

Oliver's mouth dropped open. "But—you—you didn't have to wear it!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, so this is _my_ fault?"

"Yes! You _so_ did this just to torture me!" he declared.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Oliver! I'm sure you've seen plenty of girls in miniskirts before."

"Not _you_," he protested. "You always wear jeans." After a short pause, he added, "Oh, but Miley does wear miniskirts a lot. In fact, there was one time—I couldn't keep my eyes off—"

He stopped abruptly, his eyes widening in horror as he realized the thoughts he'd just spilled accidentally.

"Wh—_what_?" Miley squeaked, her head spinning. There was absolutely no _way_ Oliver thought about _Miley_ like that. It just...wasn't possible. Not at all.

"I mean—uh—I love you," he blurted out, flashing her a smile and squeezing her thigh gently in an attempt to distract her.

"Oliver! You were just talking about your friend Miley's _legs_!" she burst out, trying to sound as angry as possible. After all, what girlfriend wouldn't be? "I can't _believe_ you!"

"I—uh—well—yours are just as hot!"

"_Excuse _me?!"

"I mean hotter! Yours are so, _so_ much hotter!"

Miley took a deep breath and bit her lip. "Can we—can we just stop talking for now?" she asked awkwardly.

He swallowed and nodded hard, cheeks aflame from embarrassment.

* * *

"_Jackson!_"

The sudden shout caused him to jump. He spun around quickly, only to find a giggling Lilly taking a seat on one of the stools at Rico's.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her in annoyance.

"Maybe not...but it was fun!" Lilly grinned back at him.

"Yeah, for _one_ of us," he muttered irritatedly, causing her to giggle again. "So...can I get you something?"

"Ooh, yeah, can I have a raspberry smoothie?"

"Sure, comin' right up."

As he began preparing it for her, Lilly decided it was a good time to launch into a recap of the conversation she'd had with Miley earlier. That was, after all, the reason she'd come.

Well, _one_ of the reasons, anyway...

"So, Miley _finally_ admitted she's in love with Oliver today," Lilly declared.

"Really?" Jackson asked in disbelief, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "She's so stubborn that I thought it would take a lot longer."

"Well, with that picture of them on the cover of like _every_ tabloid today, her best excuse was that Oliver kissed her first," Lilly smirked.

He just burst out laughing. "You know, it _totally_ looked like she was trying to rip his shirt off."

"Oh my gosh, it did!" Lilly squealed. "I didn't even think of that before!"

"And Dad was so furious when we got home today. He gave her a nice long lecture about it, too." Jackson chuckled at the memory as he topped Lilly's smoothie off with whipped cream.

She took it from him excitedly and immediately began sucking it down—so fast that it was a wonder she didn't get a brain freeze. Jackson simply watched on with an amused smile.

"So, it looks like our work here is done," he commented after a few moments.

Lilly stopped and sighed. "Not exactly. Miley admitting she's head over heels only solved _half_ of the problem."

"What do you mean?"

"She _refuses_ to tell Oliver her secret!" Lilly exclaimed in exasperation.

"Why?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "She told me he's only in love with Hannah, not Miley. And she's not risking losing him and blah, blah, blah."

"Well that's stupid," Jackson laughed.

"I know!" Lilly burst out. "It's _so_ obvious that Oliver is crushing on Miley too...he just...hasn't realized it yet."

"So let me guess—you have a brilliant plan to help him figure it out...and that plan somehow involves me?"

"How did you know?" Lilly asked innocently.

He just smiled and rolled his eyes. "You _do_ realize this won't be easy with Oliver off in Hannah-land right now?"

"I know, but I still think we can—"

"Hey Jackson!"

The voice came from behind Lilly, and she turned to find one of his friends walking towards the shack.

"Oh, hey Cooper!" Jackson greeted him with a grin.

"So, uh, _when_ did you start hanging out with middle school girls?" Cooper asked with a laugh as he took a seat next to Lilly.

"What—oh, you mean Lilly? No, no, we weren't hanging out," Jackson laughed, looking a little flustered.

"Hey! Of course we were!" she exclaimed in offense.

"No, she just ordered a smoothie, that's all," Jackson persisted.

"And then we were talking!"

"Actually, she was just about to _leave_." He gave her a meaningful look.

"Fine, I get it!" Lilly yelled at him. And with that she stood up, snatched her smoothie off the counter, and stalked away angrily.

"Ooh, that's one ticked off customer," Cooper said in amusement.

Jackson just groaned. "Yeah, and she didn't pay!"

* * *

Miley and Oliver had just finished switching limos when Oliver's phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket with a sigh of relief. It had turned out that awkward silences were _no_ fun. Not at all.

"Hello?" he said into the cell.

"_Oliver_! Put Hannah on _now_!" Lilly's voice screeched at him.

Instantly he regretted answering. Even awkward silences were better than _this_.

"Lilly! I'm on a date here!" he protested.

"I. Don't. _Care_!" she snapped.

He groaned and handed it to Miley. "It's for you," he told her with a roll of his eyes.

She took it from him calmly. "Hello?"

"Miley! I cannot _stand_ your brother!" Lilly yelled.

Miley grimaced. "What'd he do this time?" she asked.

"He totally blew me off! _Just _because one of his high school friends showed up and I'm only an eighth grader," Lilly spat. "And we're graduating in a few months anyways! So what does it even matter?"

"Lilly, you _do_ know who we're talking about, right?"

Oliver poked Miley in the side. "Who _are_ you talking about?" he asked quietly.

She covered the mouthpiece. "Uh—Orlando Bloom," she whispered. "He has a new girlfriend, and Lilly's mad."

"What the _heck_?" Oliver snatched the cell back and yelled into it. "_Lilly_! I am on a _date_! Why can't you rant to _Miley_ about Orlando Bloom?!"

Lilly smirked. What a perfect opportunity. She didn't need stupid Jackson's help after all.

"_Because_, Oliver, Miley walked off with some cute guy and left me here alone with my smoothie, all right!" she answered, sounding annoyed.

His face went pale. "Wh—_what_?"

"Yeah, she started flirting with some boy and they went off down the beach together."

Oliver's mouth dropped open. "Y—you're joking."

"Um, _why_ would I be joking?" Lilly scoffed.

"Bu—wh—" He took a deep breath and then, turning his head away from Hannah and lowering his voice to a whisper, asked, "How serious did it look?"

"I don't know, they looked _pretty_ into each other. I bet they'll be going steady in no time."

"I can't _believe_ this," Oliver muttered.

"Ooh, is _somebody_ jealous?" Lilly asked happily.

"What? Me? No way!" Oliver protested. "Miley can date whoever she wants. Because _Hannah_ and I are _completely_ in love...and you can tell her I said that. Because it's one hundred percent true. And I don't care who knows it!"

Lilly just burst out laughing. "You've got it bad, my friend."

"Whatever," he snapped. "Now if you'll _excuse_ me, I have to get back to _Hannah_. We have...things to do..."

"Uh huh, well don't let me keep you."

"I won't!"

He snapped the phone shut with a huff.

Miley placed a hand on his arm. "Is everything all right?" she asked gently.

Oliver took a deep breath. "Yes," he declared, before wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tightly to himself.

Miley sighed happily. Honestly, he didn't know exactly what Lilly had told him—or _why_ she had, for that matter. But what Miley _did_ know was that right now she was pretty dang glad Lilly did.

* * *

"Hannah! Oliver! I'm _so _glad you could make it!" Traci exclaimed excitedly when they arrived at her party that evening.

"Well, _we're_ so glad we could make it!" Miley replied, trying to feign the same enthusiasm.

"It's especially nice to see you again," Traci told Oliver with a flirty smile.

"Yeah, well if it wasn't for me he wouldn't be here," Miley muttered.

"Huh?" Traci asked.

"Oh, nothing!" Miley covered up with a laugh. She elbowed Oliver in the side as gently as possible, and he threw in a few fake laughs to help her out.

Soon Traci was laughing too, for no real reason whatsoever. "So, why don't you come sit down and tell everyone about how you and Oliver met?" she suggested.

Miley opened her mouth to reply, but Traci had already turned to Oliver. "The buffet table is over there," she told him, motioning over towards it. "I know how you boys love your free food." Traci rolled her eyes and giggled.

Miley inwardly groaned. This was _exactly_ why she hadn't wanted to come. She and Oliver were going to get absolutely no time together tonight, except for the limo ride back—in which there was the possibility that his mom would call, wondering why he wasn't home yet.

"Um, you know, Traci, I think Oliver would like to help me tell the story—"

"Don't be silly," Traci interrupted with a laugh. "He wants to go hang out with all the other guys. Right?"

"Uh—"

Before he knew what was happening, Miley had been whisked away and Oliver found himself standing in front of the buffet table—feeling alone and empty, and for once in his life not at all hungry. Some party this was turning out to be.

"Hey, I don't think I've seen you around before. Is this your first time at one of Traci's crazy parties?"

Oliver turned to find some tall, blonde guy—probably around 17-ish, he guessed—standing nearby and scarfing down a plate of food while looking at Oliver expectantly.

"Uh, yeah, it is," he replied.

"Nice. I'm Mark," the blonde introduced himself.

Oliver shook his hand, mouth agape.

"Mark," he repeated. "With a _K_?"

"Yeah, is there any other way to spell it?" Mark laughed.

Oliver just stood there in stunned silence. _This_ was Hannah's ex-boyfriend? This—this _guy_ who was three years older than her—with his perfect hair, designer clothes, and muscular build? He was like—like an older, better-looking Jake Ryan. And Oliver immediately felt sick just thinking about it.

Because _this_ was Hannah's type. _This_ was the kind of guy who could sweep her off her feet in an instant—instead of having to wait two whole _years_ for her to realize that she wanted him.

And Oliver? He didn't even stand a _chance_ against guys like this. Why had he even _hoped_ Hannah would ever love him as much as he loved her, when she had her glorious pick of guys who all looked like supermodels to choose from?

"So...what's your name?" Mark prodded, obliviously breaking into Oliver's thoughts unwelcomed.

Great, even his _voice_ was perfect.

"I'm...Oliver. Oliver Oken," he finally got out.

"Nice to meet ya. So, who are you dating?"

He got right down to the chase, didn't he? Well, Oliver had no problem answering _this_ question.

"Hannah Montana," he replied smugly, personally hoping it would _crush_ the guy that she had gone crawling into someone else's arms so quickly.

"_Impressive_," he replied, nodding as if in approval. Oliver was sure it was just a show, and that he was really dying inside. "And how'd you manage that one?"

"I waited two_ years_ for her to be ready. And then when her _boyfriend_"—he glared at Mark pointedly—"cruelly dumped her, she came running straight to me. Because she knew that _I_ would never do such a thing."

"OK..." Mark just stood there looking confused—but Oliver wasn't falling for that act.

"So, how well do you know Hannah?" he pried.

"I know she's hot. That's enough for me," he laughed.

Oliver's mouth dropped open. "_Excuse me_?" he demanded.

"I said she's hot. You got a problem with that?"

Both of Oliver's hands were now balled up into fists. He spoke through gritted teeth and took a threatening step forward before replying, "_Yes_, I do."

* * *

"Is he a good kisser?"

"Well..." Miley's cheeks turned bright red and a couple of the girls giggled. She was sitting on an expensive leather sofa in the middle of the room, with just about every girl at the party surrounding her—all wanting to know more about the "Holiver" relationship.

"Is he?" Traci pressed.

"Yes," Miley finally answered, still blushing. "And..._I_ was his first kiss."

"_Aww_," the girls chorused.

"He sounds so sweet—"

Suddenly there was a crash from the direction of the buffet table. Everyone turned to see what was going on, and Miley's eyes widened in horror when she spotted a tall blonde guy holding his nose with one hand and yelling furiously at Oliver at the same time.

"What the _heck_ did you do that for, you little _punk_?!" he screeched.

Miley immediately jumped up and ran over as fast as she could. It wasn't until she got close that she realized the blonde guy's nose was _bleeding_, and Oliver's hand was still in a fist.

"Oliver, what did you _do_?" she gasped, clutching onto one of his arms.

His mouth was still twisted in an angry scowl as he answered. "I ran into your ex-boyfriend here and he said something _really_ obnoxious about you, and I just got _so_ angry—"

"I don't even know what he's talking about! He punched me in the face for no reason!" the taller guy interrupted.

"Oh, don't act dumb," Oliver sneered.

As they started arguing some more, Miley took a second to process everything. Oliver thought this guy was her _ex-boyfriend_...the one that didn't _exist_? But she had never even seen this guy before! Why would Oliver just randomly assume that he was—

"Mark?" she gasped, all color draining from her face.

He glanced at her in surprise. "Yeah, how did you—"

"Um, Mark and I need to talk in private, everyone!" Miley announced to the small crowd that had already gathered to find out what was going on.

Oliver's face went from furiously angry to hurt and confused in an instant. "What? Why?"

"OK, everybody, back up!" Traci exclaimed, taking charge of the situation.

Miley threw one last apologetic glance at Oliver before leading Mark towards an empty hallway.

"Your boyfriend is a _psycho_," he declared once they were out of everyone else's earshot.

Miley bit her lip. "I'm _really_ sorry about all this. Um, oh gosh, your nose looks bad...here, do you need a tissue or something?" She grabbed one from her purse and offered it to him.

He thanked her and took it. "So, what _exactly_ is going on?"

"Well, um, I sort of told Oliver that I had an ex-boyfriend named Mark, and when he heard your name I guess he just jumped to conclusions," she explained.

"So then why didn't you tell him I'm not the same guy?"

She took a deep breath. "Look, if there's any way I could maybe..._pay_ you...to pretend...?" She dug back in her purse for her wallet as she spoke. "How does a hundred sound?" Miley asked, brandishing the money with an uneasy smile.

Mark just laughed. "Why?"

"It's just—if the press gets a hold of this—they'll want to know more about my _real_ ex-boyfriend, except he doesn't exist—"

"And it would be easier for you if I pretended to be him?" he concluded.

Miley smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

"Well, I could definitely use the extra publicity...," Mark mused.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Miley grinned.

He smirked. "So, is there anything I should know before someone asks me about this?"

"Yes. We dated for...um...a week and a half," Miley decided. "You broke up with me a few days ago at the beach..."

"Wait a minute," Mark interrupted. "I've been dating Ashley for the past two months."

"Um, wow...well, will it help if I bump the price up to three hundred?" she asked, flashing him a weak smile.

He just smiled back and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Anything else I need to know?"

"Um...oh! We never kissed," she told him.

"Well, that stinks. What kind of relationship did we have?" Mark joked.

Miley started giggling. He actually didn't seem like that bad of a guy.

"It's important though," she added. "Because that's what I told Oliver...and I don't want him to think I was lying."

"Got it."

"OK, so here's my number..." Miley quickly scribbled it on a napkin and handed it to Mark. "If you have any more questions, just call."

"All right...and maybe I could take you out somewhere to make up for being a jerk the other day?"

Miley blushed. "Um, I think you're forgetting I already have a new boyfriend..."

"Oh, Hannah, I'm _so_ sorry to interrupt!"

Miley turned to find Traci and Oliver standing there, and her cheeks immediately felt hotter. They hadn't heard Mark ask her out, had they? How embarrassing...

"Um, that's OK, Traci. What's up?"

"Somebody called the press after that little fight happened, and they're here now—oh, and I'm _so_ embarrassed!"

Miley just sighed. "It's fine, I saw this coming."

"You and Oliver can sneak out the back door—I already have a limo waiting there," she offered.

"All right, thanks," Miley nodded. She turned back to Mark awkwardly. "Um, so, bye I guess."

"Bye." He smiled and waved as she grabbed Oliver's hand and they slipped away.

Oliver didn't speak until they were outside. "You still love him," he said numbly.

Miley's mouth opened slightly. "Wh—what?"

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Yeah, so that wasn't my best_ _chapter ever... xP But please still review; it'll make my day. :D_


	12. She's Got Me Blindfolded

_**A/N:** __18 reviews?! That's a new record for this fic! Thanks SO much guys!! :D And I'm so extremely sorry for the wait. I know I always say that, but this time it really wasn't my fault... My mom has had me on lock down. Horrifying, let me tell you. Plus she told me that my writing was shit. How supportive._

_OH and just so you know: the second scene may be a bit...misleading at first. xD If you hate it, then BLAME MY NEW CREATIVE ASSISTANT (Theresa) for influencing my writing. But if you love it...then I take full credit! ;D Lmao jk. xD_

**Disclaimer:** Me no own. :P

* * *

**_I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't_**

**Chapter 12: (She's Got Me) Blindfolded  
**

* * *

"I saw you comforting him over there," Oliver told Miley with a look of pure disgust on his face as they climbed into the limousine waiting outside of Traci's.

He was forced to hold on until she finished giving his address to the chauffeur. She then turned to him with a sigh.

"His nose was _bleeding_, Oliver."

"Yeah, and for good reason!" he burst out angrily. "First he dumps you, then he says all that matters to him is how hot you are, and then he asks you to go out with him again as if _nothing_ happened, when he _knows_ you've already got a new boyfriend! The guy is a jerk who just expects you to keep coming back to him whenever _he_ decides he wants you! It—it just _sickens_ me the way he treats you!"

Oliver was breathing hard at this point, and Miley waited a beat for him to cool down. Then, pressing up against his side, she whispered, "_Aww_, you are the sweetest thing _ever_."

Her breath tickled his ear, and suddenly he felt himself relax completely as she rested her head on his shoulder. It was absolutely impossible for him to stay mad at _anything_ when she got all affectionate like this.

"But you know, even though that was _very_ heroic," she went on gently, "you just can't get into fights when we're in the public eye all the time. It's not good for our image."

"I normally don't get into fights at all," he sighed. "It's just—when it comes to _you_—"

"You get all protective?" Miley finished.

"Yeah," he admitted sheepishly.

"I love that," she grinned at him. "And you know, back there—I was just trying to smooth things over so Mark wouldn't go trash talking us to the press."

Oliver let out a groan and rolled his eyes. "Oh _please_, it was more than that."

Miley's head snapped up and she stared at him in disbelief. "_Excuse_ me?"

"Hannah, you can't honestly tell me that you're one hundred percent over him. You only broke up a couple days ago."

"But I _told_ you—"

"It doesn't matter how long it lasted or if you kissed him or not," he cut her off. "He was still your first boyfriend and I _know_ that you must have some feelings left for him."

"But Oliver, I _don't_," she insisted. "You have to believe me."

He gazed at her for a few moments before letting out a sad sigh. "I can't."

"_What_ is your _problem_?" Miley suddenly burst out in exasperation.

Immediately she drew in a breath, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth. Why was she taking this out on _Oliver, _when she was the one to blame here? No one could expect him to believe her when all she did was lie, lie, _lie._

"I'm _so_ sorry...," she whispered, her voice full of regret.

He looked her straight in the eyes. "My _problem_ is that you picked him first, when for two _years_ I've always been right here, waiting."

"Oliver—"

"No, let me finish," he cut her off. "You know what the saddest thing is? We both know _why_ you picked him first."

"No," she muttered, her eyes wide. "No, Oliver, it's _so_ much more complicated than that."

"Right." He folded arms over his chest. "Care to explain?"

Her throat tightened. "I—I—_can't_—," she choked out.

Because the truth—that she had made up a boyfriend to get _rid _of him—was just as bad...if not worse.

"Exactly." Oliver shook his head sadly. "Hannah, I'll _never_ look like him. I'll _never _be your dream guy."

"It's not _about_ looks!" Miley burst out.

"It really is! Because if I looked _nearly_ as good as him, then you would've gone out with me right away!"

"Oliver, just _stop_ it." Reaching out one hand, she gently pulled his face towards hers and stared directly into his eyes. "You are _every_ bit as attractive as he is, OK?"

"That's a joke," he scoffed.

"_No_, it's not," she insisted. "I mean, come on. Do you really believe I would be trying to rip your shirt off if I _didn't_ think you were hot?"

Oliver gasped, his eyes growing wider than she'd ever seen them before. "You mean—you mean you _were_?" he asked, unable to keep the excitement from his voice.

Miley didn't answer, just bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Well, by the way, in your attempt to rip off my shirt, you ended up ripping out my _only_ chest hair," he informed her.

She raised her eyebrows at him in amusement. "Oh really?"

In response, Oliver turned his head slightly and leaned in, pressing his mouth against her ear to whisper flirtatiously in it. "Mmhmm. But it was _so_ worth it."

Miley started giggling like an idiot and he smirked at her.

"So then...are we all right?" she finally asked.

Oliver gazed into her eyes for a few moments before letting out a small sigh. "Well, it's just that...if he hadn't turned out to be a jerk, then you'd still be together," he pointed out. "And you'd be completely happy without me."

"That's not true," Miley protested softly. "Oliver, I could never, _ever_ be happy without you. And—I was never in love with Mark in the first place... When I went out with him, I didn't even expect it to last—"

"But—then why did you go out with him in the first place?" he asked, confused.

She glanced away from him. "Well...I mean...it was—my dad," she blurted out finally.

He shot her a puzzled look. "Your dad?"

"He...uh—he doesn't like you!"

"He's never even _met_ me!" Oliver exclaimed in bewilderment.

"Oliver, he didn't really _have_ to meet you to think you were a stalker," Miley giggled.

"_Excuse_ me?" He folded his arms, looking quite offended at the accusation.

"Oh, come _on_—you broke into my dressing room, you tried to jump onstage, you chased down my limo...and let's not forget all the times you _proposed_ to me through fan mail!" She paused for a moment. "Should I go on?"

Oliver bit his lip. "OK, in my defense...it's been at _least_ a year since I've sent you a proposal."

She burst out laughing. "Is that your best response?"

He didn't answer that. "Wait, so—how does Mark fit into this?"

"Well...my dad wanted me to go out with someone..._normal. _His word," she added quickly.

"So I'd back off?" Oliver guessed, frowning.

"More like—because he thought I was falling for you," Miley clarified with a grin. "Which I was. But we couldn't have that, now could we?"

"So does he know we're dating now?"

She stared at him in disbelief for a second. "_No,_ it's not like a million different stories about our relationship have shown up in all the tabloids," Miley answered him sarcastically. "Of course he knows we're dating, you doughnut!"

The fact that Hannah was using one of Miley's pet names for him didn't seem to register as weird at all in Oliver's mind. He merely smiled back at her adoringly. "I love you too," he said softly. "You swear not to let anyone else steal you away from me?"

Miley wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly to herself. "I swear," she whispered, watching his face light up in response.

Suddenly they felt the limo slow and Miley buried her head in Oliver's suit jacket.

"Oh, _please_ don't tell me we're at your house already," she groaned unhappily.

"All right...but I _will_ need to leave the car soon," he pointed out with a sigh.

"But—we didn't get _any_ alone time until just now, and we spent all of it _fighting_." She wrinkled her nose.

"Well, you know, it's still pretty early. When do you have to be home?"

Miley's head shot up excitedly. "Not until late! It's the weekend, and Traci's parties last _forever_!" She grinned.

"Wanna come inside then?"

"To your house?"

Oliver nodded.

She wasn't sure why, but the idea sort of surprised/intrigued her. The trio never really hung out at Oliver's house... In fact, come to think of it, Miley didn't think she had ever even seen the inside of his room before.

"What would we _do_?" Miley inquired curiously.

"Oh, I can think of a few things," he smirked.

* * *

"There's only one way this is happening."

She tugged the blindfold harder around his face and he squirmed. "But I don't _like_ it."

Her hands were off him in a second. "Then we don't have to do this."

"No, I _want_ to," he whined. "More than _anything_. Well. More than _most_ things—"

"Then it's my way or not at all," Miley interrupted impatiently.

"I just don't get why I need the blindfold," Oliver grumbled back at her. "It's silly."

"It is not silly," she insisted. "If you're not good enough to do it blindfolded, then you're not good enough, period."

"But I've been practicing," he protested.

"_Practicing_? On _who_?" Miley asked incredulously.

Oliver shifted uncomfortably. "Um...OK, so maybe _imagining_ would be a better word..."

Miley just rolled her eyes and smiled in amusement. "Of course."

"But seriously, how hard could it be?" he went on.

"_Oliver_." Her voice took on a warning tone.

"I'm still wearing the blindfold, aren't I?" he asked wearily.

"Yep!"

"You know, it would be sexier on you," he threw in casually.

Miley's mouth dropped open, not sure at all what to make of that. She cleared her throat uncomfortably before replying, "Oliver, I'm serious."

"So am I," he smirked.

She chose to ignore that. "You're wearing it. End of discussion."

"Fine," he sighed, reluctantly giving up. Arguing with Hannah was pretty much a lost cause.

After a few more pain-inducing yanks, Miley finally had a sturdy knot that she felt she could be sure of. She stepped around to face Oliver and waved a hand in front of his face just to double check. He didn't move a muscle.

"Can you see me?"

"No," he muttered unhappily. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Oh, stop it, drama queen," Miley giggled. "So. If I was to take something off, you wouldn't—"

"_What_?" Oliver screeched, his hands flying to the back of his head immediately. But before he could undo the knot, Miley's arms shot out and gripped his wrists firmly.

"I meant—like my shoes!" she exclaimed quickly.

"Oh." He tried to compose himself and sound nonchalant. "I knew that."

Miley just rolled her eyes. "Look, no matter what, you have to _swear_ not to take that blindfold off until I say so."

"Rules, rules."

"_Oliver_," she growled.

"Fine, fine, I swear! Now can you hurry up?"

"God, you're impatient."

"Need I remind you, I waited two _years_—"

"Oh, don't start that again!" Miley burst out exasperatedly.

Oliver huffed at her. "I am _so_ glaring at you from behind this blindfold right now."

"_Aww,_ but why?"

Placing one hand on his cheek, she leaned in and rubbed her nose gently against his. He felt himself melt again. She was so in control of his emotions, and she knew it. In fact, it was really kind of unfair.

Miley backed away slowly, deciding to take that moment of Oliver's dazedness to quietly pull off her wig. And even though she knew he couldn't see, her heart was still pounding wildly as she gazed in transfixion on the bathroom mirror in front of her and watched her wavy brown hair spill down.

After a few moments with no scream or reaction of any kind from the boy beside her, she decided she could relax a little.

"I'm ready," Miley finally declared, tossing the wig to the side in relief.

Oliver's lips widened into a grin, and she proceeded to take a seat in the chair that had been provided for her, leaning back and letting her hair fall into sink basin. Her head came to rest on the towel covering the edge of the counter top. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant arrangement ever, but it was bearable.

"Does your neck feel all right?" Oliver asked in concern. "I tried to make it as comfortable as possible, but if you're in any pain whatsoever, then we don't have to wash your hair here—"

"There's no place else," Miley pointed out.

"Yes there is. You're forgetting about the shower—"

"Don't _even_ think about it!" she cut him off warningly.

A smirk slowly spread across his face. "Too late."

"_Oliver_!"

"Oh come on, I'm wearing a blindfold—"

"_Stop_ it!" Miley squealed. Leaning forward in her seat, she gave him a light smack across the shoulder.

"OK, OK, I'm done!" he exclaimed, raising his hands in surrender.

"Good. Now would you please just start the water?"

"All right..." The smirk came back, and Miley just new something dirty was bound to follow. "Here or the sh—"

"_Here_!"

Oliver began fumbling around for the sink faucets, a sight Miley couldn't help but giggle at. After a few moments, he finally got the water running, making sure to check the temperature before cupping a hand over her eyes and carefully dipping her head back.

"Can you pass me the shampoo?" Oliver asked once her hair was soaked to his satisfaction.

Miley reached for a bottle on the counter, pausing to examine it before placing it in his outstreched hand.

"Oliver, this stuff is expensive!" she burst out in surprise. "I'm sure your mom wouldn't want you to waste it on me."

"But it's not hers, it's yours," Oliver reassured her.

Miley looked up at him in confusion. "What?"

"Well, I was hoping this day would come, and I wanted to make sure that I only used the absolute best products on you when it did," he explained. "So I went into a hair salon and asked for the best product in the store."

"You mean _you_ bought this? For _me_?" she gasped. "Oh my gosh, Oliver. That's so freaking sweet I should kiss you right now."

"Oh yes you should," he urged her on with a grin, leaning down so that she could. But due to the blindfold he was wearing and his consequential lack of sight, his lips ended up brushing the tip of her nose instead of their intended target.

"Lower, Oliver," Miley giggled, tilting her head up to meet him halfway.

His lips finally found hers out, and he gave them a long and tender kiss. And then Miley drew in a sharp breath as his mouth began moving again—kissing down her jaw, sucking softly on her skin. An involuntary shiver of pleasure made its way through her body. She'd _never_ felt like this before—and to think that _Oliver_ was the one causing the feeling was just...unbelievably incredible.

But then all of a sudden his head snapped back up, all of the wonderful sensations leaving along with his lips. Miley latched onto his shirt and gave it a tug in protest.

"_Oliver._"

There was just something about hearing her whine his name like that—so _needy_—that it brought a smirk to his face.

"Yes, Hannah?"

"I didn't say you could stop," she pouted pathetically.

The grin widened. "But I have to finish your hair," he reminded her.

"Isn't kissing me more fun?"

Oliver bit his lip, clearly torn.

"Stop distracting me."

"That's what girlfriends are for!" Miley giggled.

But he wasn't listening anymore; instead he focused on dabbing just the right amount of shampoo into his palm and began working it throughout her hair, gently massaging it into her scalp with his fingertips.

"Mm...that feels _really_ good," she mumbled in pleasure.

"See?" Oliver said softly. "I didn't need to wear a blindfold to prove that."

He felt her tense up suddenly. "You promised—"

"Shh," Oliver hushed her, crooning softly in her ear. "I'm not taking it off."

Miley let out a breath of relief and let him continue on with his task. Before she knew it, he had finished with the shampoo and moved on to the conditioner, and then finally he was giving her hair the final rinse. He twisted the faucets off with a grin of satisfaction on his face.

"You're done," he declared proudly, reaching back to untie the blindfold so he could survey his work.

Miley saw what he was doing and immediately jumped up to stop him—never mind the fact that her hair was still completely soaked—and ended up spraying water everywhere in her haste. She ignored the mess she was making and focused on securing Oliver's wrists before he could carry out his plan.

"What are you doing?" he whined, struggling against her death grip.

"You _promised_!" she squealed angrily.

"You said I had to wear it to wash your hair! And I'm _done_!"

"I also said you couldn't take it off until I said so!" Miley reminded him. "And you _swore _you to me that you wouldn't!"

"But I'm _done_," Oliver repeated. "And I want to see your hair before we blow dry it."

"No," she said firmly.

"_Hannah_." He pouted. "Why not?"

She let out a sigh. "Oliver, I don't let _anyone_ see me with wet hair. It's just one of my things."

"But I'm not just _anyone_," he protested.

"Look, I'll—I'll make it up to you, I promise—"

He shook his head dejectedly. "Hannah, you will _never_—"

Miley chose that moment to shove her lips against his, cutting him off and succeeding in proving him wrong before he had even finished the sentence.

Oliver responded immediately, everything else fleeing his mind as he kissed her back. He tangled his hands in her hair, forced to only imagine what the soft, drenched locks beneath his fingers looked like at that moment since his sense of sight had been stripped from him.

But then, without warning, the hair he was picturing was no longer Hannah's hair. It was brown...and wavy...and—and _Miley's_.

And suddenly his mind was drawn back to those beautiful, perfect lips Miley had...and how they looked exactly like Hannah's... He couldn't help but wonder—did they feel the same as hers too? Did they taste as good as Hannah's did, right now?

That was the last thought he had of Hannah as Miley's image consumed him completely.

She staggered back as Oliver began to attack her lips with a passion she never even realized he possessed. His hands slipped down to her waist, and he pushed her back against the wall as she gripped him closer, their bodies pressed so tightly together that it was hard to believe either of them could breathe. But Oliver continued to kiss her with everything he had in him, the need for oxygen not seeming to register in his brain at all. It was just so mind-blowing, and Miley was so..._addicting—_that he couldn't believe he had never tried this sooner.

And why hadn't he? The fear of ruining their friendship seemed so silly now. There was no reason they shouldn't be together...this felt so _right_...

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, but both Miley and Oliver were so wrapped into each other that it went unnoticed. The second one, however—along with the call of "_Oliver_!"—shattered his reverie into several pieces and left him standing there, frozen and confused.

"Oliver! Are you in there?"

Marc's voice snapped him out of his state of shock and all at once he remembered where he was, and what was going on, and—and _Hannah_.

"_Hello_?"

Much to Miley's disappointment, Oliver pulled away from her with a sigh to answer his brother.

"Yes, I am! Go use Mom's because I'm gonna be a while!"

She clutched him tighter. "Is that a promise?" Miley whispered into his ear, her voice all soft and alluring.

Oliver just about died. He moved in closer to pick up where he'd left off, and—

"Where's Hannah?" Marc's voice suddenly interrupted again from outside the room.

Oliver groaned in frustration. "We're still technically on a date so don't bother her!"

"I can talk to her for five minutes while you're in the bathroom," Marc rebutted. "Where is she?"

"All over me," he mumbled under his breath, voice barely audible.

"You know it," Miley giggled as quietly as she could, before grabbing the front of his shirt and drawing him back in for another kiss.

"Oliver?" Marc banged on the door again. "Are you gonna answer me or what?"

Silence.

"Oh my God...she's _in there_, isn't she?" he cried out, the realization hitting him suddenly. "What are you two _doing_? No, wait—don't answer that! I don't think I want to know..."

Oliver broke away from Miley again to yell at him, extremely frustrated by this point. "_Yes_, she's in here! I was just washing her hair!"

"With the door locked..._right_." Marc rattled the knob a little to prove his point.

"She didn't want anyone barging in on us!"

"Oh, I bet she didn't."

Miley placed a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Anyways, _whatever_ it is you're doing, you should hurry up," Marc went on. "You wouldn't want _Mom_ to find both of you in there with the door locked—she wouldn't believe any of your excuses."

Oliver wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a threat, or just a nice, brotherly warning, but either way he gritted his teeth in frustration. "Marc, if you don't go away _right now_—"

"No, he's right," Miley cut in gently. "I don't want you to get in trouble. I'll finish drying my hair by myself and then meet you out there, all right?"

Oliver sighed unhappily but allowed her to lead him to the door. As soon as it was open, she shoved him through and clicked it shut again so quickly that Marc didn't get any chance to see her or her telltale brown hair flowing freely over her shoulders. But what he did see was just as interesting.

"Are you wearing a _blindfold_?"

Oliver scowled and finally untied the thing without any problems.

"I guess that means Hannah's the dominant one," Marc commented with a laugh.

Oliver glared at him sharply. "Do you _honestly_ think that she and I would be hooking up in that bathroom in broad daylight? Especially with Mom in the house?"

"Well, I know for a fact you wouldn't be hooking up in _your_ room," Marc shot back. "The millions of posters you still haven't taken down would creep Hannah out more than anyone."

"It's a little early to be hooking up _anywhere_ when we've been dating less than a week," Oliver pointed out in exasperation.

"But you've been fantasizing about her for two years. I just assumed you'd jump at the first chance you got."

"You're right," he muttered to himself after a few moments of contemplation. "Maybe I should act now before it's too late..."

"Before you do that, you may want to go change into a new shirt," Marc suggested with a wry grin. "One that's _dry_."

For the first time since he'd taken the blindfold off, Oliver looked down at what he was wearing and realized that his shirt was almost completely soaked through by now. Hmm...did that mean Hannah's was too? He couldn't help but smirk at the thought.

* * *

_**A/N: **Soo...was it completely awful? I'd love to know your opinions. :) And um, maybe we could get the reviews up to at least 20 this time? ;D_


	13. Guess I'm Used To My Southern Girl

_**A/N: **Thirty-two reviews?! Oh my GOSH, that is INSANE. You're all so amazing. I could never have dreamt of such a wonderful thing!!_

_I'm **really** sorry this update took so long...again, blame it on my mother... Things have gotten so much worse. It's just nightmarish._

_BUT before I continue, I would like to dedicate this chapter to two of my bestest friends. :) First off, I'm dedicating it to Drew (MileyAddicted) because he left me the most AMAZING review in the HISTORY OF THE WORLD last chapter, and because he is always there for me, constantly makes me smile and laugh when I'm feeling down, and I am just soo thankful for his friendship. :) Secondly, this is dedicated to my friend, Tori, because, despite the fact that she is a Loliver shipper, she has always been so supportive and enthusiastic about this fanfic! I meant to have this up for her birthday (August 26) but that didn't work out! So sorry Tori! I love you both! :D :D_

**Disclaimer:** I don't _think_ I own HM...but I could be wrong. :P

* * *

**_I Can't Make You Love Miley If You Don't_**

**Chapter 13: Guess I'm Used To My Southern Girl  
**

* * *

"Miley!" Lilly picked up on the first ring, her voice bursting into Miley's cell phone excitedly. "How was the party?"

"The party...," Miley repeated slowly. Truthfully? Probably about the furthest thing from her mind at the moment. "Wow...that just—seems so long ago."

"Didn't it just end?" Lilly asked in confusion. "Or—did you, like, just wait _forever_ to call me?!"

"No, no—we left early. I was still with Oliver—"

"Oh my _gosh_!" Lilly cut in with a shriek, her mind jumping to all kinds of conclusions. "I guess it got too _boring_ for him, huh?!"

"Wha—"

"Oh, _ew_, no! I can't believe he went there so quickly!"

"Lilly—"

She continued to go unhearing, still muttering to herself. "Oh, God. Ugh..."

"_Lilly_!" Miley yelled a little louder. "It wasn't like _that_! Gosh—first Marc, now _you_? I swear, you people are just..." She trailed off with a shake of her head.

"Wait—what about Marc?"

"If you let me finish without interrupting, I'll explain," Miley replied, a little agitated.

"Fine. Go ahead."

"We left early because Oliver punched someone."

There was a short pause, and then—

"Oliver?! _Oliver _punched someone?!" Lilly shrieked. She broke into a fit of uproarious laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA—"

"LILLY! Would you please—"

"HAHAHAHA—"

"_I'm not joking_!"

"Oh." The laughter died as quickly as it had started. "You're not?"

"No!" Miley snapped. "Oliver ran into some guy named Mark and thought he was my ex-boyfriend—"

"Um, OK, _why_?"

"Didn't I tell you about telling Oliver that my ex-boyfriend's name was Mark?"

"No," Lilly huffed, definitely upset that this was the first she'd heard of it. "And why the _heck_ did you use his brother's name?! Are you kidding me, Miley, you're a horrible liar!"

"Well, I've kept the secret up this long, haven't I?" she shot back.

"Ha, yeah... Let's just say you're lucky that Oliver isn't the _brightest_ person in the world..."

"_Lilly_!"

"OK, so he punched this random guy, and you guys left the party," Lilly recapped. "Then what happened?"

"Oh my gosh, it was wonderful." Miley's voice immediately softened at the memory, and she got all dreamy-eyed. "We were making out and—"

"Ahhh! _No_! TOO MUCH INFORMATION!" Lilly screamed frantically. Probably holding her hands over her ears to block it all out, too.

"—I wasn't wearing my wig!" Miley finished, raising her voice in hopes that Lilly would hear her in spite of all that.

It seemed to work, because immediately Lilly drew in a huge gasp. "You mean you _told_ him?!" she squealed excitedly. "Oh my gosh, Miley, that's so awesome! See, I told you it would all work out! Aww..."

"No, Lilly, no, I didn't tell him!" Miley groaned. "Would you just listen—"

"Oh my gosh, so he was just kissing you as Miley without knowing you were Hannah?! See, I told you—"

"_No_!" Miley exclaimed in exasperation. "I didn't tell him and he didn't know I was Miley! He was _blindfolded_!"

"WHAT?!"

Miley grimaced. Apparently the yelling wasn't over yet. Lilly usually didn't get this crazy over the phone. Probably had too much sugar in her dessert or something...

"I thought you said it wasn't like that! Oh. My. _God_! You two—"

"_He wanted to wash my hair_!" Miley cut in. "OK?! That's _all_ it was!"

"_Ohh_," Lilly breathed. "I get it. Yeah, he did always have that obsession with Hannah's beautiful blonde hair." She laughed. "But—why was he blindfolded, exactly?"

"Um, hello? It's not like I could let him wash my wig!"

"Duh, I know that. I meant, like, how did you convince him to wear the blindfold?"

She shrugged. "It wasn't hard. I just told him we had to do things my way or not at all."

"Oh my gosh—do you know what this means?!" Lilly burst out excitedly.

"Um. No?"

"You can get him to do _anything_!" she squealed. "Tell him to buy me a new skateboard!"

"And _why_ would I do that?" Miley scoffed.

"Because I want one. And you _know_ he'd do it if Hannah asked him."

She shook her head in disbelief. "Lilly, we are not going to take advantage of Oliver's obsession with Hannah. It's a little thing called _wrong_."

"But, Miley. Isn't that exactly what you're doing? Taking advantage of Oliver's obsession with Hannah so that you can date him?"

Miley's mouth dropped a little at the accusation. "That's different," she insisted.

"Why? Because what I wanna do would hurt Oliver's wallet, but what you're doing might hurt his heart?" Lilly went on. "Yeah, you're right. That's a lot different."

Miley's throat tightened up. Since when was _Lilly_ her voice of reason? She did not like where this conversation was going.

Suddenly a familiar ring tone went off from the other cell phone lying on her nightstand, and she was spared from continuing it.

"Oh, oh! Oliver's calling the Hannah phone! Gotta go!"

"OK, but think about what I—"

Miley clicked off and switched phones before Lilly had a chance to finish the admonishment. "Oliver!" she gushed happily into the mouthpiece.

"Hannah!" he greeted her just as excitedly. "Where are you?"

"Um. I'm at home in bed, where are you?" she laughed.

"_I'm_ at our special spot on the beach." Miley could just picture the grin on his face as he said it.

"We have a special spot?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, you know—the spot where you told me you couldn't live without me."

"Huh...and why don't I remember saying this?" Miley teased him.

"Well, probably because your exact words were 'we can _never_ be apart.' Which is exactly why you should come meet me here right now!"

Miley took one glance at the clock in her room and her eyebrows rose. "Are you serious? It's past ten."

"So?"

"Oliver, my dad would never let me go out this late—and especially not with _you_—"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't asking if he wanted you to go. I was asking if you wanted to go."

"Wait, you mean like"—she lowered her voice to a whisper and glanced around the room as if afraid that some invisible person might overhear—"sneaking out?" Miley felt her heart rate speed up with excitement just at saying the words aloud.

"That's what I did," he replied proudly, "and not even my mom, the cop suspected anything."

"Well. I do have a rope ladder I could use to climb out the window."

"Then what are you waiting for?" he burst out. "Get over here!"

Miley giggled at his impatience. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

* * *

"_Oliver_."

Her soft, whispery voice broke into the quiet stillness of the night. Not sharply, but as if it belonged there; gently floating out on the wind, beckoning to him sweetly.

Oliver lifted his eyes and was instantly mesmerized by the sight before him. He sat there, drinking it in: the way the wisps of her beautiful blonde hair were stirred by the slight breeze, how wonderfully the delicate little nightgown with the shimmery fabric and lace trim showed off those gorgeous legs of hers, and how the moonlight illuminated her perfect features—all making her appear more goddess than human.

"_Wow_," he breathed out slowly.

A smile tugged at Miley's lips as she continued to stand there unmoving, letting him gaze for as long as he liked.

But after a few moments, the look of awestruck wonder on Oliver's face seemed to change ever so slightly. He got up and stepped toward her, his eyes more focused now and holding a bit of curiosity in them.

"Do you always look like you've just stepped off the cover of a magazine?" he asked bluntly.

Miley blinked in surprise, completely unsure how to interpret the question. It didn't _sound _like a compliment.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," she finally responded, glancing down at her attire dejectedly. "It's the nightgown, isn't it? You don't like it."

"What?" Oliver gasped in shock. "No! Of course I do!"

"It's OK if you don't," Miley told him, although the frown on her face said otherwise.

"Hannah. Haven't I _told_ you that no matter what you wear, you still look more beautiful than any other girl on earth?"

She glanced back up into his eyes. His voice was so soft, so sincere, so _loving_—and yet she still studied him with a face full of doubt. After all, if that were true, then wouldn't she still look beautiful to him without the wig on? But he never looked at Miley the way he was looking at Hannah right now. At least, not that she'd noticed. And she _would_ have noticed.

Oliver's eyes flickered downwards again, then back up to hers, a wide grin spreading across his face. "And anyways, that nightgown is _totally_ sexy on you." He winked.

A small giggle escaped her lips. "I thought I saw you staring earlier," she teased him.

"Oh yes. I like to look."

Miley's eyes widened slightly and her hand flew to her mouth in amusement.

"Oh _gosh_," Oliver groaned in embarrassment upon noticing her expression. "I need to think before I speak."

Miley just giggled some more. "So then...what _did_ you mean...when you asked that about how I looked?"

His face grew serious again. "Well, like...is that really what you wear to bed every night?" he enquired.

"Is _that_ really what _you_ wear to bed every night?" Miley countered, gesturing toward the wife-beater and striped pyjama pants he had on.

Wow. Staring at his shoulder muscles like that just made her fingertips go all tingly...

Oliver's laughter broke her out of the thought. "Yeah, like I was gonna run down here in nothing but my boxers," he was saying.

Miley grinned slowly as the new image filled her head. "Y'know, I really wouldn't have minded that."

"Oh, of course not. 'Cause you're just _dying_ to see Smoken Oken in all his shirtless glory," Oliver teased her.

"You _know_ it," Miley grinned back. Almost instinctively, she grabbed at the ribbed tank and pulled him closer, fully preparing to kiss him again. Until he had the idiocy to open his mouth, that was.

"What about your makeup?"

Miley's eyes fluttered back open and she eyed him strangely. "What _about_ my makeup?"

"Nothing...I just thought that girls wiped that stuff _off_ before going to sleep," he commented. "My mom does, anyways."

"Well..._I_ thought you might want to help me with the lip-gloss," she replied suggestively, tugging down slightly on the neckline of his shirt and batting her big blue eyes at him.

His eyes widened in shock, and Miley immediately knew that her attempt at distracting him from the odd questions milling around in his head was working. "Wh—seriously?"

She nodded vigorously back at him, her face beaming.

"But so then...you _did _just put it on because of me," he concluded.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Oliver. Does it _matter_?"

"Well, not really... But I mean, what were you doing? When I called you?"

With a sigh, Miley sat down on the blanket he had spread out for them on the sand, and Oliver followed suit. She really didn't understand his persistence with this, but obviously the night wasn't going anywhere until he got the answers he wanted, for whatever reason. So she might as well give them to him now.

"I was talking to Lilly on the other line," she answered plainly.

"Lilly?" Oliver repeated questioningly. "How'd _she_ get your number? I know I didn't give it to her."

_Crap._ Miley closed her eyes and mentally scolded herself. Of course he didn't. Because Lilly wasn't _Hannah's_ friend; she was just an annoying fan. Gosh, if she could just keep her story straight for once...

"Um...she said that she stole your phone when you weren't paying attention," Miley said uneasily, "and found it on there. I think."

"Ugh, I keep telling her not to touch my phone!" he exclaimed in aggravation, pulling the cell out of the pocket of his pyjama bottoms. "I bet she changed stuff around while she was looking for your number, too. She is _constantly_ doing that." He scrolled down, checking for evidence of Lilly's presence, when suddenly a thought came to him. "Wait a minute. I didn't save you as Hannah, just in case my phone _did_ get stolen or lost. How'd she figure out that was you?"

"I don't know. What _did_ you save me as?" Miley asked curiously.

"Uh—that's not important," Oliver said quickly, a light blush creeping across his face.

"Oliver. Give me the phone," Miley instructed him firmly.

"Wha—no!" he burst out, yanking it behind his back. "It's not important, really!"

"_Oliver_." She glared at him pointedly, clearly growing frustrated with his antics. "Give me the phone, _or else_."

"Or else what?" he grinned back at her.

"Or else I will hold you down and _force_ you to give it to me," she shot back, the glare never wavering.

"Hold me down," he repeated. "Ahhh. Hold me down. Sure. Fun."

Miley gave him a once-over. "What? You don't think I could? Just 'cause I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't take you!"

"Suuuurrrre." Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Do _not_ underestimate me, boy," she growled. "I may _look_ sweet, innocent and harmless on the outside—but on the inside, I am mean, tough and _scary_!"

Unable to hold it in any longer, Oliver simply let loose and busted out laughing, causing Miley to eye him strangely.

"What's so funny?" she asked suspiciously.

"You don't get it, do you?" he laughed.

"Um...no?" She furrowed her eyebrows and thought back to what she had said. "What... WAIT. Oh my GOSH. I did _not_ mean it like that!" she squealed.

"Well excuse me for being a guy and giving me the three words, 'hold me down'!"

"Oh my _gosh_," Miley giggled, her cheeks red from embarrassment. "I bet you _really_ enjoyed that, didn't you?!"

"Mhm," he smirked. "Mean, tough and scary."

She smiled and rolled her eyes, her gaze landing on the cell phone, which she then noticed he wasn't guarding so carefully anymore due to the unintended distraction. Quickly taking advantage of what she saw as a perfect opportunity, Miley lunged forward and grabbed it from his hand—not realizing that, due to the close proximity in which he was sitting, she didn't exactly need to use so much _force_—and accidentally crashing down on top of him in the process.

Oliver blinked up at her, stunned momentarily by the sudden impact. Then slowly his lips curled into a grin. "Wow. You really weren't kidding about the 'hold me down' thing, now were you?" he teased.

"Oliver!" she squealed once more, smacking him lightly on the shoulder before rolling off of him and onto her back. She snuggled up closer to him and then dangled the cell above his face in a taunt. "I got it," she declared proudly.

"Yeah, you did," he sighed, smiling over at her all the while.

She drew it closer and opened up his contacts, quickly scouring through them for any name she didn't recognize. She paused when she reached the _L_s. "Lilly's name is in all caps with three exclamation points at the end," Miley remarked amusedly.

Oliver glanced over and immediately saw the big LILLY!!! in the middle of the list. "Ugh. She _did_ take it," he said in disgust. "Why can't she keep her hands off my stuff?"

Miley smiled and kept going. "Love Of My Life," she read aloud. "Is that me?"

"What?" Oliver asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Surprised at his reaction, she hit 'view,' and when the digits appeared on the screen, her eyes widened slightly. "That's—"

"That's _Miley's_ number!" he finished for her, eyes widened in shock. The longer he stared at the display, the angrier and more defensive his voice became. "I'm telling you, that totally had to be Lilly!"

"Sure."

"It's probably just her twisted idea of a joke," he went on. "There is _nothing_ going on between Miley and me. Nothing at _all_."

Instantly her face grew somber. The truth of those words hit her square in the stomach, and she felt her throat tighten up.

"Hannah? Are you all right?" he asked in concern when she didn't answer him.

_Hannah_. God, how she hated hearing that name.

"I—I swear we're just friends," he tried again.

"Shh. I know," Miley replied faintly.

"I'm sorry," he continued quietly, "if that upset you..."

She glanced into his eyes, so full of remorse over something that wasn't even his fault. Of course it was only normal for him to assume his girlfriend would be upset over that, not knowing that she and Miley were one and the same. Of course he was only trying to fix things. Of course he didn't mean anything by it...

"It's okay," she reassured him softly, deciding then not to let anything ruin the perfect night they were sharing together.

He smiled in relief, then nodded toward the phone. "You're still on there," he reminded her.

"Oh, right." She flashed him a half-smile and continued down the list, although in all honesty, she wasn't too interested anymore. All the names looked normal for a while—Marc, Matt, Mom...Sarah... Wait a minute. _Saint_ Sarah? Why the hell did he have _her_ number? Eh, whatever...

And then the next one startled her so badly that she sat straight up, her eyes huge and her mouth dropped wide open, unable to think or speak for a few moments.

"Oh. My. _God_."

"_Ooh_, did you find it," he commented, no question in his voice. He proceeded in sitting up as well.

She jerked toward him, her expression still one of complete and total shock. "_Oliver_!"

"What?" he asked, trying to sound innocent. The dumb smirk plastered on his face betrayed him, however.

"There—there is _no way_ that's me!" she squealed.

"There's no way...what's not you?"

Miley narrowed her eyes at him. "Like you don't know."

"I don't!" he laughed. "What did you find?"

Her face was burning as she glanced back down and read the words on the screen. "_Sex Goddess_?" she squeaked, unable to believe her own ears.

"Oh. You're right," he returned uninterestedly. "That's not you."

The surprise turned to intense anger, and she shot him a glare of death that would've turned anyone's blood cold. "_WHAT?!_" she yelled furiously. "Who _else_ could it be?!"

Oliver fought back a smile as he gave her his answer: "Traci."

"_Traci?!_ Did you just say _TRACI?!_" she shrieked.

"Gosh, don't be so loud," he laughed. "There could be other people out here taking nice, romantic moonlit strolls along the beach. You wouldn't want to disturb them, now would you?"

She paid no attention to that. "If you—_you_—" she stuttered, so agitated that it was becoming hard to form sentences.

"Yes?"

"If you want a—_Sex Goddess_—then I will _show _you a _Sex Goddess_!"

His eyes widened, both in shock and excitement over this new declaration. But before he even had time to open his mouth, Miley threw herself at him, slamming him back down on the ground again and knocking the wind out of him. And then her lips were on him, attacking his ferociously, in a way that he never thought possible of sweet little _Hannah Montana_. Her hands slid up his shirt, feeling over every inch of his upper body, and—

All he saw was Miley. Miley, not Hannah, touching him like that. Kissing him like that. _Wanting_ him like that.

And oh _God_, did he want her too.

With newfound passion at this realization, he succeeded in rolling them over so that he was on top of her. He kissed her back with an insatiable hunger, moving from her mouth down her jawline and finally reaching her neck, which he spent extra time on. A soft moan escaped her lips, only encouraging him further. His hands slid down her sides, feeling her curves, and when they reached her legs he immediately found himself grateful for the short nightgown she had on, glamorous or not.

But then suddenly, and completely out of the blue, Miley cried, "_Stop!_"

And that's what he did.

She hadn't even realized she'd said it aloud until Oliver flew off of her and blinked down at her in surprise. Not because of what she said, but because of who he was staring at there on the sand. It was _Hannah_, not Miley. Hannah, with her long blonde hair looking a bit tousled, gazing up at him with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out, her voice soft and breathy. "It's just—I think—we might be going a little too fast."

It was the best explanation she could come up with that would make sense to him, and hopefully not push him away. But truthfully, it wasn't the speed at which they were going, or that she didn't want do this with him—she _did_.

But she wanted it to be Miley, not Hannah, who got to have this special moment with Oliver. Hannah already got _everything_—the fame, the fans, the _boyfriend_. Miley wasn't about to let her have this too.

To her surprise, he didn't come back with a rebuttal of "I waited two years for you," or anything remotely similar. Instead, Oliver just nodded, his eyes full of understanding.

"You're right," he said simply, holding out a hand to help pull her up next to him. Because little did she know, he was thinking along the same lines she was.

Miley smiled gratefully and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck. "I love you," she whispered softly, afraid he might doubt it now.

"I know," he replied gently, returning her embrace. "I love you too. So much." A pang of guilt stabbed him with each word. Someone who loved her like he claimed to wouldn't be fantasizing about another girl constantly, would he?

And he wasn't even sure why it was happening—he figured it was just some weird one-time thing earlier that day and had shrugged it off. But what with it happening again tonight, he was forced to re-examine himself. He did love Hannah; he was sure of that. So then...why did he keep seeing _Miley_ every time he closed his eyes?

"Oliver," her voice broke into his thoughts, "are you ever going to explain why you were interrogating me earlier?"

He laughed at her choice of words. "I wasn't _interrogating_ you. I was just trying to...to understand."

"Understand what?" she asked curiously.

"Well, like, if you ever...I don't know. Just chilled out at home and stuff. Like a normal teenager. Without having to look...well, like a superstar, all the time."

Miley's mouth almost dropped open. That was why they had created Hannah in the first place! So she _could_ be a normal teenager.

But she couldn't tell _Oliver_ that. Not yet, anyways. And since he was asking Hannah, she had to answer as Hannah.

"Not that it's a bad thing for you to look like a superstar," he was rambling. "Because, I mean, that's what you are. But like—"

"No," Miley cut in.

"No?" he repeated in dismay. "Never?"

"Well." She pulled back and glanced up at him with a smile. "I think _you're_ my little slice of normal. And you're the best thing that ever happened to me."

Oliver beamed and pulled her in tightly to himself. He pressed his forehead against hers, gazed down adoringly into those eyes, and Miley knew in that moment that there was no place else she'd rather be but there in his arms. It was the safest and most secure feeling she had ever known before; and she knew that no matter what happened, as long as he was there holding her, everything would be all right. A small yawn escaped her and she buried her face in his shirt.

"You know something?"

"What?" she asked softly, closing her eyes in sleepiness and contentment.

"You have a Southern accent," he stated bluntly.

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Well, yeah, I'm from Tennessee."

"But I can hear it more when you're tired. I think—I think you try to hide it," he concluded. "You shouldn't do that."

"Why not?" she mumbled.

"Because it sounds pretty. And it reminds me of—"

Her eyes snapped open. "Of who?" she demanded.

"Well—um—" Oliver stuttered unsurely. "I—I don't know."

She let out a small breath of relief and shut her eyes again, happy that after all the time he'd spent with Hannah so far, her secret was still safe.

But Oliver did know who her accent reminded him of.

It reminded him of _Miley_.

* * *

_**A/N:** Well, there you have it. Hope it was worth the wait, and that it didn't suck, and you guys like it enough to leave me as many wonderful reviews as last chapter. :)_

_And another quick shout out to Drew before I go: I hope this was even worthy of being dedicated to you. You're the most amazing friend ever. I don't deserve to have you in my life and I consider myself the luckiest person on earth because I do. I really, really hope you liked this as much as you liked Chapter 12. And did you notice the inside joke? ;D Or is your memory too bad to remember that conversation...hmm... xD Ily. :)  
_


End file.
